She Can Dunk
by Pelvicthruster91
Summary: Yuki's the new member to join Seirin High's basbektball team. What's weird to almost everyone is that for a girl, she's exceptionally well at the sport. Working with the boys to get to the Inter-High, she first has to pay a visit to Touou to yell at her cousin Satsuki Momoi for her earlier ambush. There, she comes to meet the hot headed player of Aomine Daiki. Aomine x OC RATED T
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This is a fic about the anime Kuroko no Basket! Centers around Yukari Aisaka, a young teenage girl who is far from the norm. The Generation of Miracles have said to be a group of 5/6 amazingly strong basketball players who are now all split up in different High schools. Yukari has grown up playing basketball from a young age. This, at first, being sparked by an attempt to lose weight, seeing as she was an overweight child. Another reason also being that her two older brothers play on national teams in America. Growing exceptionally well at the sport and having mastered it abroad, Yukari has decided to go back to Japan and join the one basketball team who would allow a female on their boys' team. Seirin High.

**Other notes:** Yukari currently lives with Satsuki Momoi, her distant cousin. Yukari at first misses the first day of school, so everyone on the team has already been acquainted with eachother. She has been taunted quite a lot in her life considering she is a girl who has beaten a lot of men at what they would say their sport.

**Noticeable skills:** Fast runner. She's never met anyone who could outrun her. Since she's a girl and doesn't have large, excess weight due to muscle like the boys, she's exceptionally light on her feet, causing her footwork and turn arounds to get pass just about anyone. Yukari is also great at drawing fouls since all guys seem to forget that her body is much lighter and therefore when brushed into will go down to the floor.

**Weaknesses:** Due to little muscle, she grows tired quite easily when it comes to passing the ball. Her lay ups are horrible because she can't jump that high and she relies too much on the help of her team mates for that. Currently, she can only shoot from within the 3 point line.

**Pairing:** Aomine Daiki x OC

**Chapter 1: The Meeting**

"Satsu-chan?" I call out, as I slowly descend down the staircase of my cousin's house. Once I step into her view, an immediate flash goes off almost causing me to tumble down the stairs.

"Eh? You almost look better than me!" she huffs out, as she makes me spin around in my new high school uniform.

"Please don't say embarrassing things like that," I mumble shyly, as I begin to slip on my crisp, newly new, white shoes.

Today was the first day of my new life in Japan, with Satsu-chan and with the boys at Seirin. Satsu-chan had noted that Riko-senpai was expecting me, but apparently had kept my upcoming debut as a surprise to the boys. Which did cause some panic within me. What if they were just like everyone else? Un-accepting, weary, hesitant. Cruel.

A shiver unexpectedly runs up and down my spine as I recall past events as to which all of those factors had came into play. By now someone would think I'd be over the judgment, but these men just came up with new and more ways to put me down.

"Eh? Yuki-chan?" questions my cousin, as she stands behind me. Slipping on my other shoe, I pick up my school bag off the floor before I turn to look at her.

"Yes?"

"How come you're wearing tights with your skirt?" she asks, as she glances between her bare, ivory coloured thighs and my slightly tan, thin ones. Which were neatly covered with the black, stretchy fabric.

"Why not?" I question worriedly, as I begin to stare at her legs.

"Well it is a bit old fashioned. But then again, so are you," she laughs, her voice full of light as she drags me out the door.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I yell flustered, embarrassed by her use of words.

Hesitantly, I place a weary footstep into the gymnasium of Seirin High. I anticipate for that calm, burst of electricity to flow through me as I always did whenever I stepped onto a new court. But a pang of panic instead made it's way into me as I realize that I felt absolutely nothing when I stepped onto the waxed floor.

Noticing the emptiness of the vast gym, I had decided to go on ahead and get changed into my strip. Pushing the girls change room open, I jump back as I notice a thin girl wearing the same, white uniform as myself, sitting on the bench. Her hair is a mocha brown and in short layers, with matching large, wide eyes. Much different when compared to my features. Long, vanilla creme coloured hair. Currently it was let running down my back in it's long waves, courtesy of Satsu-chan who insisted on doing it this morning. My eyes were a shade darker than my hair. But in a way, the short hair made the elder girl in front of me exceptionally cute.

"Your chest might be a problem," she muses out loud, as she rests her chin daintily on the brim of her knuckles. She continues to sit, analyzing my whole body. Slowly I begin to grow embarrassed, while unconsciously looking down at my chest. It was the same size as Satsu-chans', but I managed to keep them in check by tightly wrapping them in bandages. Something the doctor continued to warn me not to do, but ignored him none the less.

"Aisaka Yukari. I can't say I'm not impressed," she says with a light, friendly smile to her lips. My body begins to relax as I realize that she has a clipboard by her.

Could this be-

"I'm your coach, Riko," she says, as she begins to write a few things down on her board.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for considering me," I say politely, as I bow my head down in response.

Suddenly, I begin to sound like a dying seal when I start to choke out incoherent words as Riko-senpai slams her fist on my head.

"No need to be so polite. You're going to be hating me in a couple of hours. Get dressed and I'll introduce you to the guys."

I watch in shock as she walks out, a light bounce to her walk.

Beginning to tie my hair up with my lucky, white ribbon, I can't help but think of what Satsu-chan had said to me before her and I both parted ways.

"Riko-chan, don't approach her so lightly. She may just be a second-year but her analytic skills are something else."

It seems as though those words couldn't be any more right.

Although I was the first player to arrive, I'm shocked to see all the boys already practicing out on the court. Figures, none of them had hair to tie up or a chest to bandage.

Something I apparently wouldn't be doing today. As I was getting ready to change, I had noticed that my usual chest wrappings and extra shirt were nowhere to be seen. Instead, I stumble upon a note scribbled in my cousins hand writing.

_"Sorry, Yuki-chan. We can't have you being introduced to the boys looking like one. Even though you dress pretty girly but when you dress for basketball you look like such a boy, "_ Skimming through her pointless ramblings, I skip down to the last bit, " .._.for today, wear this shirt and prove to them that you can play while still looking like a woman!"_

Digging more into my bag, I pull out a tight, pink tank top.

Eh?

**EH?!**

Just what exactly did Satsu-chan think she was doing? Without my bandages, my breasts would be bouncing all over the place! I played basketball so others would notice my skills, not my body.

I couldn't ask Riko-senpai for an extra shirt because hers would be even tighter considering she had a small chest. Asking one of the boys would be too embarrassing and I didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea.

So swallowing the lump in my throat, I toss the flimsy top on and tie up my laces before heading out.

When I get home, I am going to kill Satsu-chan.

Stepping out of the changing room, I try my hardest to remain quiet and unnoticeable. But that proves to be impossible due to the pink shirt. Glancing around for Riko-senpai, I see her off to the side talking to a boy with glasses. Shuffling towards her, I yank her sleeve like a helpless child.

"Yuki-chan, what's- G'ah! They're even bigger than I had thought," she says, her voice full of shock as she takes a step back.

" those are some nice-"

Immediately Riko-senpai kicks the spectacle wearing boy in the gut.

"C-Coach, I-I was going to say shoes," he chokes out, as his body twitches for a moment, before growing deathly still.

"S-Sorry, coach. My cousin thought it would funny to unpack my wrappings and normal shirt. Sor-"

"It's fine, it's fine. Maybe these will give the boys some motivation," she says questioningly, as she uses the end of her pen to gently prod at my breasts.

That's when the both of us notice that a single ball hadn't been bounced in the past minute. Slowly looking to the left, I watch in horror as all the boys of the team look our way with a perverted look.

Crying, I cling onto Riko-senpai and hide behind her small frame.

I was never good with as to how I should present my body. That's why I always wore cover ups like tights with my uniform, so I didn't get reactions like this.

Never mind killing Satsu-chan at home, I'd run to Touou and end her there.

"...and now, we're lucky enough to have her playing for Seirin High," finishes the coach, as she wraps up my introduction in front of the boys. I'm surprised to notice that none of them seem shocked or angry that they had to play with a girl. Instead, the captain of the team, Hyuuga-senpai, officially welcomes me in when he walks over and in an almost sisterly way, rubs my head.

"Don't let us down," he says, his voice kind and reassuring. All I could do was smile at him with a dazed, happy look.

"Alright, everyone get in a line," says coach, as she makes us all stand in a single line.

I stand beside a tall, red haired boy- no man, who's presence alone seems to be enough. On the other end of him is a blue haired boy who seems practically invisible.

"All of you, take of your shirts!"

The blood drains from my face as I hear Riko-senpai's words. Looking to the right, I notice all the boys have taken their shirts off and are now staring at me with that same, glazed look from before.

Riko-senpai has to go and slap just about everyone besides the captain and the red and blue haired boys.

"It's fine, Yuki-chan," she says, her words reassuring.

Standing there, I can't help but grow red at the sight of all these handsome guys. They were all so toned and tall. Nothing compared to my 5'8", thin frame. Looking up at the red head beside me, I begin to wonder if he could snap me in half.

"Hm? What're you lookin' at?" he grumbles, as he notices me looking up at him. Looking away, I quickly mumble "nothing" and continue to look occupied.

Now we were finally getting to a game. It was the seniors versus the first years. I almost had to take a seat and breather when I found out the red head, known as Kagami Taiga, was only a first year.

Right now, Riko-senpai had given me the position of small forward. The small forward was exceptionally quick and good at drawing fouls. But, they were also the ones who made the lay ups and slams. Something I always had trouble with.

Riko-senpai had said that I had plenty of time to build on it before the Inter-High preliminaries came up. Right now, the skill she was testing against everyone was my speed and coordination between my eye and footwork.

As the game begins, I notice that the boys are somewhat reluctant to pass to me, in fear that they might hurt me. It made me smile at their concern because most of the time the guys I had played with had no problem whipping the ball at me.

Since no one was passing to me, I began to take it easy until the coach started to yell at me. Not wanting to disappoint her, I don't question when the ball mysteriously ends up at the other end of the court into my hands. Seeing this opportunity, I dribble the ball and begin to make way for a steel, until the seniors team up on me.

I smile at myself, almost laughing at how I had thought they'd go easy on me. This was the fighting spirit of Seirin High.

Smiling at them, I look into Hyuuga-senpai's glasses, focusing on the reflection that was behind me. Behind is Kuroko-kun, wiping the sweat off his face and to the right is Furihata-kun. In front by the hoop is a waiting Kagami-kun, anticipating for the ball. I suddenly realize that Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun seemed to make the best plays together and with those two, they were unstoppable.

Dribbling the ball from left to right, I quickly slide through the little opening between Mitobe-senpai and Izuki-senpai's body.

"It's not over yet, get on her!" yells Hyuuga-senpai, as I hear the seniors closing in on. Jumping in the air, I'm about to shoot when Hyuuga-senpai comes flying in front, waiting to block. He was much taller than me and would surely succeed in deflecting my attempt, but instead, I fake the shot and whip the ball at Kuroko who was still planted at the end of the court.

He then dribbles further up where he managed to get the ball passed all the seniors and into the hands of Kagami, where he goes in for a slam dunk.

The buzzer goes off and coach blows her whistle, calling everyone in.

Suddenly, the boys rush up to me, slapping me on the shoulder, ruffling up my hair.

I whine in response when they did so because Satsu-chan put a lot of effort into doing my hair this morning.

"I'm impressed, Yuki-chan. I thought all the rumours were false when I heard a girl had played in the Championship League," says coach, as she begins to make a few more notes.

"You played in the CL?" asks Kagami-kun, as he wipes the sweat off his face with his shirt.

Suddenly, all eyes are on me and I feel the pressure.

"I played and I also lost. During the fourth quarter it was about a minute left and I was running down the court, waiting for the pass so I could throw it in and then we would have had the game. Instead I I guess I wasn't looking and tripped over someone and one thing led to another and I received a minor concussion," I laugh softly, as I casually rub the back of my head.

The boys begin to note that I should've been looking and then before I knew it, the topic of best ways to kill someone came up.

Riko-senpai called the practice to an end and ushered us to get changed.

As I was walking to the girls' changing room, I bump into someone.

"Oh, I'm- K-Kuro-kun!" I choke out, as I hit my chest, trying to restart the frightened organ.

"When you were talking about playing in the Championship League, you said you tripped," he said, his voice quiet and perceptive.

"Y-Yes-"

"A member from the other team tripped you."

I lay my hand frozen upon the door, looking into Kuroko-kun's soft, innocent eyes as he stares at me, his words more of a fact than question.

"Kuro-"

"As long as you play with me, I can't guarantee your safety," he says, his voice clear with certainty.

My eyebrow twitches as I expected him to say the exact opposite of that.

"But I'll- no, excuse me. We'll try."

With that, Kuro-kun walks away, his sincere words causing a slight tear of love in my chest. Before I turn to go change, I watch as Kagami-kun unknowingly walks right into Kuroko and immediately the two begin to argue.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Generation of what?**

It was now lunch time, and the team and I were all sitting on the roof eating lunch together. I try to pay attention to Riko-senpai who was filling me in on everything I had missed the first day, but I can't stop watching Kagami-kun from devouring a stack of sandwiches.

"...they're strong. So that's why we need to train harder than ever if we want to see ourselves at the Inter-High," she finishes, as she wraps up her conversation about the Generation of Miracles.

Looking at Kuroko-kun, I look at him with much more respect than I did so before. Even though he wasn't loosely speaking part of the 5, his talent was far too great to overlook. Kuroko-kun was the type of man I looked up to.

Walking towards him, I place my hand firmly on top of his blue hair. Gently rubbing the smooth texture, he looks at me with a blank expression.

"Wow, I can feel the power!" I exclaim, as I usher for everyone to touch Kuroko-kun. Reluctantly, they all do so.

Hyuuga- "_I...I don't feel anything._"

Izuki- "_He's warm._"

Mitobe- "..."

Riko- "_What what conditioner could he be using?!_"

Kagami- "_With this, I'll beat the Generation of Miracles!_"

Now after school, I walk down the hall by myself until I notice a tall, red head up ahead. Kagami-kun. Walking faster, I catch up to the tall man and begin walking beside him.

"Kaga-kun?" I say, as I decide to give the man a nickname.

"Damnit, yer' just like Kuro- Hey! Don't call me that," he growls, as he tosses his bag over his shoulder.

"Sorry, Kaga-kun," I say again, as I throw him an innocent smile.

He's about to yell at me but stops when he see's the look on my face.

"What do you want?"

"How far is Touou from here?"

"Hm? Touou, why?"

"I need to visit someone."

"Not that far. Probably 10 minutes."

Good, I could get there in no time.

Thanking Kagami-kun, him and I were about to part before I give him some friendly advice.

"You should smile more often, Kaga-kun. I'm sure the girls would love you more," I laugh, as I nod towards his apparent scowl. Flustered, he opens his mouth to speak but I finish his sentence for him.

"Basketball's all I need, right?"

He gives me another scowl but I only take it as a smile. Jogging to my locker, I quickly change my shoes so i could get to Touou in time.

But as I open up my locker, a few white, folded pieces of paper tumble down. Were these love letters?! Already? This was the first time this had happened to me but I didn't think this type of stuff actually happened!

No time to read the letters, I place them in my bag before jolting out of the school.

Bursting into the gym of Touou, it's it's absolutely empty. Really? I assumed thought that the very least there'd be a few stragglers practicing after school. Or was Touou that great?

All by myself, I find no shame in looking down at my breasts and cupping them gently.

"They hurt so much," I mumble to myself, as I begin to feel the aftermaths of practicing without them bandaged up.

Behind me, I suddenly hear someone clear their throat. Knowing that soft, light voice from anywhere, I turn around, my hands still cupped around my breasts.

"Satsu-chan! I've been looking-"

Slowly and scarcely, my hands drop down to the sides of my body. There Satsu-chan was, with the whole team of Touou right behind her, all watching my little display at what they would think of to be my little attempt at some self pleasure.

Burning hot red, I grab my cousins arm and bolt towards the other side of the gym.

"Yuki-chan, what're-"

"What am I? You hid my bandages! I had to do practice without them. Now my chest really hurts," I whine helplessly, as I cling onto my cousin.

"Then why didn't you just bandage them?"

"Satsu-chan, you took them. How could I when-"

"I hid them. Didn't you read the note? I knew you'd really need them so I told you to check the back pocket of your shorts," she says, as she gives me an incredulous look. Dumping my bag on the ground, I dig around my bag for Satsu-chan's note. Instead, I get confused with all the other one's that accompany hers in the bag. Seeing this, Satsu-chan kneels down and begins to read and unfold the pieces of paper.

"_When you ran, it reminded me of two basketballs jumping up and down. I think I'll join the team next year,_" she reads out loud.

Freezing, I snatch the note from her hand and read it myself.

"Kidding!" she jokes, as she sticks her tongue at me. This was no laughing matter!

She stands back up and looks behind her shoulder, seeing all the boys waiting for her.

"Yuki-chan, go home. I'll be here for a while, so we'll talk then, okay?"

I wave goodbye to my cousin, as I watch her beautifully long, pink hair sway from left to right. Nearly caught in a trance, I quickly gather the notes into my hand and decide to read them on the way home.

Exiting the gym, I one by one begin to unfold the pieces of paper.

"_We should really go on a date._"

"_I think you're really cute and I would love to go to the movies with you!_"

"_Would it be okay if I introduced you to my parents and told them you were my girlfriend so they'd stop calling me a deadbeat?_"

Flattered at all the notes, I finally get to the one Satsu-chan had written. I nearly collapse as I realize in shame that throughout all the rambling, she indeed mentioned that the wrappings were in the back pocket.

Now in a bad mood, all I wanted to do was go home and drown myself in the tub.

But as I look up from my notes, I notice that my surroundings don't look familiar to me and I had no clue as to which way to go.

Pulling out my phone, I text Satsu-chan, hoping that throughout the break she'd go to her phone and check her messages.

Other than that, I had no one to go to. So instead, I went to the nearby basketball cage and decided to practice until Satsu-chan got back to me. Pulling out a spare ball from my bag, I toss it to the side and work on my lay ups and dunks, ignoring the pain in my chest. I had to get better if I was going to play with the Seirin boys. I couldn't just talk about the Championship League to them and come up dry at the Inter-High.

First, I try different methods of jumping to see which of the two would increase my height jump. Finally picking one, I dribble the ball from hand to hand and mentally picture someone big like Kagami-kun in front of me. I bounce the ball quickly at an angle from in between his legs. As Kagami-kun would turn to look at the ball coming into to his left, he'd anticipate me coming from that way as well considering the ball would be in a closer reach. But instead, I'd go to his right and watch as he'd turn around, looking for my body that'd be naturally right behind his. Given that moment of distraction, I'd steel the ball and with my uncanny speed, run to the hoop.

Throwing the ball in with a lay up, I make no attempt to catch it as it falls through. Instead, I stand there quietly, thinking about the lay up I had just done. Anyone on the Seirin team could stop it. My jumps were too weak.

Suddenly, I watch as my lucky ball, gifted by my grandfather, had made it's way into the arms of a huge, tanned man. He goes in for a lay up, his jump outstandingly high and with little to no effort. I stare up at him in awe, it was almost as if he had wings on his back.

Too occupied with the magic I had just witnessed, I was right in the tanned man's way as gravity was pulling his body back down. Not even with my sharpness could I avoid his body. Unfortunately, his body crashes down and pins my much smaller frame beneath him.

Cracking an eye open, I go red as I realize as to how close his face was to mine.

"You look like someone I know," he says, as he begins to climb off of me. He helps me up, as he walks away to grab the ball.

Smoothing out my skirt, I look up just in time to catch the ball. I watch as he turns and begins to leave, but I quickly stop him.

"Th-That was really amazing. C-Can you please help me-"

"Sorry, sweetheart. But a woman as fragile as you should just stick to coaching," he stops to say, not bothering to even say it to my face.

Dribbling the ball in between my legs, I may or may have not made a mistake when I challenge him to a one on one.

"Normally, I wouldn't accept because you're a girl and all, but I can't refuse since it is coming from one," he says, a deadly smirk beginning to creep on his face. And then I see it. That glint in his eyes. Something I rarely saw in players but whoever had it, always proved to be a monster at the game.

"My name is Aisaka Yukari, it's a pleasure to meet you," I introduce, as I stand in the middle of the half court line.

"Aomine Daiki. I don't have time to waste. 1 basket says it all. I can't say I'll go easy on ya'," he mutters, his amusement and passion for the game nowhere to be seen. And for some reason, this frightened me. A man who played basketball with no love for it wasn't a player at all. He was a monster.

Aomine-kun towers over me, his stature intimidating at first. But now as I realize that he had no passion, it was the same as playing basketball against a puppet. At first they were dead. But with the right strings pulled, they could come to life.

I once again picture the scenario in my head from earlier. But instead of Kagami-kun standing in front of me, it's Aomine-kun. I haven't played with this man before, so I'm not aware as to how his skills match up to mine. But given from his earlier lay up, he was a force to be reckoned with.

And I didn't want to stick around much longer because if given the right chance, this man would destroy me. In one on one, I think of the quickest way to get past him and score. There was one thing I already knew for sure about Aomine-kun. If it was a foot race to the ball, he wouldn't stand a chance against me.

Dribbling from left to right, I rock my hips as well, noticing from a young age that this was a key reason as to why my body could move so lightly and quickly. No man who had played basketball that I'd seen could move their hips accordingly.

I watch as Aomine-kun glances down at my hips, a small grin appearing on his lips. This was common for all males to do at first. It looked as if I was dancing and only the stupid would fall for it as a distraction. There was also another thing I knew about Aomine-kun. He was far from stupid.

"Come on sweetheart. Don't think yer' good looks will be enough to distract me," he laughs, as he catches on to what he thinks to be as a pathetic attempt of it.

Dribbling the ball from left to right, I fake a pass from in between his legs and instead go to throw the ball from behind my back. But I make a mistake and forget to count in that his arms were long, so reaching to knock the ball from behind me was easy for him. Plus, with my small hands, gripping the ball in one hand wasn't ever so easy. A key factor as to why I couldn't dunk or do a lay up. The ball always slipped.

Shocked, I watch as he snatches the ball from me and I know then it's over. All he had to do was shoot, because there was no way I could jump and deflect it. But instead of shooting right there and then, Aomine-kun mocks me as he begins to run towards the hoop for what it looked to be a dunk.

Almost smiling, I once again use my hips to turn and go after him. Maybe Aomine-kun was a little stupid in the sense that he over estimated my speed. I catch up to him with ease and once I appear beside him, he glances at me with a shocked expression. Slapping the ball into my hands, I know that if I dribbled down the court, Aomine-kun could easily catch up to me. That was a downside to my strength of being able to run so quickly. That could only happen if the ball wasn't in my possession. But, it also proved to be an upside.

I expect Aomine-kun to just once again reach around and slap it back into his hands, so instead of dribbling, I whip the ball down the court and look over towards Aomine-kun, almost in a challenging way. Seeing this, he immediately begins to run towards the ball. This time, it was my turn to mock him. I stay motionless for a couple of seconds, giving him a head start. And then, just like a switch being turned on, I kick it into high gear and whiz right pass the tall, tanned man, grabbing the ball off the ground. Since I had caught the ball right underneath the hoop, all I had to do was toss it in. And I did. 1 basket had indeed said it all.

Aomine-kun stares at me, his face unreadable. That deathly presence from before completely vanished. What was once a tall, intimidating man now stood a helpless, poor child.

But my win today, if anyone could call it that, was only because of sheer luck. Aomine-kun was far more superior than me in almost every way. He could jump higher, dunk, steel the ball from me like child's play. But today, I was lucky. All because Aomine-kun had underestimated me from the beginning. He should of stuck to what he knew than to go on ahead and run for it. That was one weakness when it came to all males when they played against myself. As long as they doubted me, they'd stand no chance of scoring.

"Ao-"

Suddenly, I hear the buzz of my phone go off in my bag. Jogging towards it, I flip the device open and find 2 missed calls and 1 new message. Opening the message, it was from no other than Satsu-chan.

"_Where are you? I called you twice! Your brothers phoned asking if they could talk to you so I told them you went out to play and then they yelled at me for letting you go by yourself. If you're lost, here's the directions again. I'm really worried!_"

A frown plays my lips as I realize that I've upset my already worrisome cousin. Clenching my phone, I quickly zip up my bag and decide to run home.

"Yukari?" says a timid voice from behind. Startled for a moment, it was strange to hear someone call me by my full name. Everyone found it easier to just call me "Yuki". It was even stranger hearing it from Aomine-kun for some reason.

Looking over my shoulder, I see a nervous Aomine-kun scratching the back of his head.

"Eh? Oh! Please forgive me. Thank you for the game!" I say kindly, as I give him a warm smile before bowing down.

But this only causes him to grow flustered and even more nervous. What happened to the cold hearten man a few moments ago?

"I I was wondering if you wanted to grab a bite to eat?" he asks, as he spins the ball around on his index finger, hiding his face.

Was Aomine-kun asking me out?

Suddenly my cell phone comes to life. Flipping it open and holding it up to my ear, I nearly drop it when I hear Satsu-chan yelling on the other end.

"Sa-"

"**GET HOME NOW!**"

She hangs up, not letting me say another word. Frightened as to what her wrath would be when I got home, I quickly grab my bag in panic.

"Was that your boyfriend?" asks Aomine-kun, as he suddenly stops the ball from spinning.

Giving him an incredulous look, I awkwardly pat him on the chest since he was much too tall to rub his hair like Kuroko-kun's. I couldn't help but wonder if it was as silky as his.

"What an interesting man you are," I muse, as my voice grows serious. Looking up into Aomine-kun's eyes, I saw a lot of strange things. The determination but yet the lack of will power. The passion, but the lack of presence. Whatever asset I saw in a true basketball player, Aomine-kun had it, but there was something there as well to contradict it. Aomine-kun was not one, but two individual players. Both equally scary.

I'm startled once again as I hear my phone go off.

"Hell-"

"**WHERE ARE YOU? I SAID-**"

Ending the call this time myself, I tell Aomine-kun that I'd love to go with him but I had to head home now.

As I bolt out of the basketball cage, I hear Aomine-kun call out my name again and say something. But at that moment, all I could think of was Satsu-chan. I knew exactly how she'd punish me. With her cooking.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Confession and Bread**

Moping up the stairs, I rub my eyes tiredly. When I got home yesterday, Satsu-chan was surprisingly back to her normal, bubbly self. She was just happy to have me home. I wanted to tell her all about Aomine-kun, but first I had to hold down her food and in the end, I received no time to spill about the mysterious man. Instead, Satsu-chan kept questioning me about Kuroko-kun and was making sure no girls were on him.

As I climb the stairs to the roof, I almost feel Satsu-chan's food rising back up. Looking further up, I wasn't sure if I'd make it without making a mess.

Still walking, I hear urgent footsteps from behind. Looking behind me, I find that it was a distressed Kagami-kun.

"Kaga- G'ah!"

Kagami-kun grabs my hand, pulling me with him as he races up the stairs, throwing us both onto the roof.

Laying on my back in front of everyone, I cover my mouth, trying so hard to hold the food down.

"Well, well. I didn't think you two would make it," says Riko-senpai, as she stops the stop watch in her hands.

Mitobe-senpai and Koga-senpai help me up, as Izuki-senpai and Hyuuga-senpai pull Kagami-kun off to the side.

It didn't make much sense considering we all could still here their conversation.

"You little brat, just what the hell did you do to our _imouto_ (**little sister**)?" threatens Izuki-senpai as Hyuuga-senpai shakes a dazed Kagami-kun over the railing.

"Ah! Please-"

"Let them be. Anyways, I've gathered you all here for a reason. As you can see, the opening ceremony is taking place. Here, I will give you the opportunity to state your name, class and reason for playing basketball. Your answer cannot be of the following "To impress a girl". I want it from the heart! Now, we did this last year and did get in trouble. So we only have a few minutes for you all to do it. Now, who'll be the first?" says coach, as she crosses her arms over her chest.

Looking around, no one volunteers until Kagami-kun does.

I watch in amazement as he easily states the will of his heart, as if it was something he did daily.

Jumping off, he walks pass everyone with a light smirk. Getting fired up by his attitude, I too stand at the railing and admit my desires.

"...I want to be that inspiration to girls everywhere that no matter what race, size, person you are, you can do it!"

Stepping down from the railing, I'm attacked by the brotherly love of my senpai's.

"Our_ imouto_ is growing up!" they cry, as they continue to hug me.

I then notice that Mitobe-senpai isn't anywhere to be seen in this onslaught of love. Instead, I notice him off beside Kuroko-kun as he begins to wipe away his fake tears.

"That's a little much, Mitobe-senpai!" I yell in embarrassment.

Really, my senpai's were a lot to handle.

"So you want us to get the bread?" says Kagami-kun, as Hyuuga-senpai hands him the money.

"If you can do that much, then the Seirin basketball team is set."

The last and final challenge into officially becoming part of the Seirin team once and for all.

The first year's all follow Kagami-kun out to the canteen. We're all amazed to see the crazy bustling over this unappealing bread.

One by one, they all take turns throwing themselves into the crowd. I stand back quietly, not wanting to draw any attention to myself.

But that all fails when Furihata-kun comes up with a fool proof plan of putting me on top of Kagami-kun.

"T-That's impossible! What if I fall?" I yell, as I shyly yank my skirt down. Truth was, the idea of my legs around anyone's head made my heart skip a couple of beats.

"Yuki, come on. This is our only-"

"I got the bread."

Looking behind me, Kuroko-kun stands with the famous bun in his hands. Startled out of my mind, I lean helplessly onto Furihata-kun for support.

"I I can't go on," I moan, my voice eerily deathly.

"Hang in there!" he yells, as he supports me on his body.

"Just how did you get the bread?" asks Kagami-kun, as he examines the contents of the bread.

"The flow of the crowd pushed me further up and I was suddenly in front of the bread. I took one and left the money and came back."

We all stare at Kuroko-kun, amazed at how one's invisibility always managed to come up as a plus.

"Here's the bread," says Kagami-kun, as he hands the bag to Hyuuga and Riko-senpai.

"It's fine. You guys deserved it so enjoy it yourselves," he says, as he gives us all a friendly smile.

One by one, we all at first attentively begin to eat the bread. Miraculously, it had to be the most delicious bread I had ever eaten.

"Eh, slow down_ imouto._ You might choke," says Koga-senpai, as he pats my back, causing me to spit some of my food out.

Mitobe-senpai hands me a juice box with little kittens adorned all around.

This this was crossing a line.

During practice, the boys were now beginning to open up to my presence and starting to pass to me. A few like Mitobe and Izuki-senpai still had a hard time using all their force against me.

Now in the middle of a game, I'm running towards the hoop, waiting for a pass by Kuroko-kun to Kagami-kun to come my way. But instead, Kagami-kun throws too hard and the ball flies past me. He had no idea how to pass to me. Sometimes it was too light and the other times it was too forceful like this.

"Kaga-kun!" I whine, as I shoot him a look before running to grab the ball. Instead, a tall, blonde haired man in a striking suit snatches the ball into his hands.

He looks at everyone, his eyes almost snake like.

Afraid, I begin to take a step back but his attention suddenly snaps towards me. The man slams his body into me, pinching my cheeks.

"Waaaah, how cute!" he laughs, his voice shockingly friendly and gentle. As he continues to pinch my cheeks, he reminds me nothing more than an innocent, Labrador puppy.

"Hello, Kise-kun," says Kuroko-kun, as this Kise-kun let's go of me. I take a few steps back, giving them some room.

"Kurokocchi! Did you miss me?" he asks, as he rubs the back of his head shyly.

"Riko-senpai, who is he?" I ask my coach, as I keep my eyes on the two in front.

"I'm not sure."

After a few moments, Kuroko-kun and Kise-kun walk towards the group.

"Everyone, this is my team mate from Teiko, Kise Ryouta," introduces Kuroko-kun, his voice far from happy.

"Eh, Kuroko-kun, at least act like you missed me!"

"Sorry, Kise-kun."

We all remain silent, sizing up the member of the famous Generation of Miracles. He was amazingly handsome, but what else did he have that made him so special? Kuroko had his misdirection, but what about Kise-kun?

"Oi, you're one of the Generation of Miracles, eh? How about we go one on one?" asks a voice from behind. Turning, we all look at Kagami-kun with a shocked expression. Taking on the Generation of Miracles as a team would be hard enough, but what was Kagami-kun thinking about going head to head?

And surprisingly, Kise-kun agrees to the match.

But before they start, I wish to give Kagami-kun my lucky basketball to play with. Running to my bag that was in the girls' locker room, I almost cry as I realize that I had forgotten to take it back from Aomine-kun.

Moping, I drag myself back out in time to watch the two begin.

Standing back from afar, I watch as Kagami-kun had the built and height, but did that really matter when up against Kise-kun?

Soon enough, it proved to be nothing.

"H-He's just copying Kagami!" states Koga-senpai, reading all of our thoughts.

"Just like I use misdirection, Kise-kun's skill is the ability to make a perfect copy. His style of basketball is his opponents'," says Kuroko-kun, as he just as intently watches Kagami and Kise-kun go at it.

In the end, Kise-kun came out as the winner.

"Neh? You'll have to do a lot better than this, Kagami-kun. That is if you wish to beat the Generation of Miracles."

With a few last parting words between Kagami, Kuroko and Kise-kun, I wander off to go sit on the bench.

There, I think about what I had just witnessed. Kuroko-kun had mentioned that Kise-kun wasn't a candidate from the start. He was merely the person their captain had realized to fit in for the 5th player they had kicked out. There were four more stronger than Kise-kun and the thought of that frightened me.

"Don't look so worried," says Riko-senpai, as she takes a seat beside me.

"B-But look at him! Do you think we'll be enough to-"

"I know we will. This year we have all you first years. Plus, your senpai's from the year before wouldn't still be here if they didn't think they'd be enough, right? Have a little faith, Yuki-chan," she says, as she consoles me with her powerful leadership skills. From her reassuring words, I watch as Kise Ryouta, the 5th member of the Generation of Miracles walks out of the gym. With the help of everyone, we'd all stop him and the other 4.

About to enter the gym of Touou, Satsu-chan was supposed to come to Seirin so the both of us could walk home, but it seems that both schools had practices after the end of the day. Satsu-chan had said for me to walk home but she immediately took her words back when she recalled the lectures she had been given from my brothers the day before. Instead, she ordered for me to come to Touou where she would walk me home until I had memorized the correct streets and paths.

Walking into the gymnasium, I see that their practice is still going strong. I find Satsu-chan with the schools coach. She waves at me and ushers for me to come to her.

"How was practice?" she asks, her voice very sly.

"If you're wondering about Kuroko-kun, he's fine. Kise-kun paid him a visit though," I say nonchalantly, as I begin to rummage through my bag for that sweet, red bean bun I had been saving for later.

"H-He did? I wonder if Ao- Yuki-chan, those are really bad for you!" she nags, as she snatches the bun away from my grubby hands.

I give her a pleading look, asking for it back.

"Imayoshi-kun!" she calls out, turning to look over her shoulder.

In comes running a tall player wearing glasses. I believe that this was the captain of Touou's basketball team. There was something very displeasing about the happy look on his face.

"Make sure Yuki-chan doesn't get a hold of this."

Tossing the heavenly bun like a mad woman into his hands, Imayoshi-kun holds it above me.

"Th-That's not fair!" I whine, as I jump up and down like a child.

Suddenly, an idea pops up in my head. I quickly search for a player who's taller than Imayoshi-kun.

Spotting one, I slowly walk up to him, tugging on the back of his uniform like a lost child.

He turns around for a second, completely ignoring me but has to do a double take. The boys around us also take notice of my presence.

"I-Imayoshi-kun took my my bun. Can you get it for me, please?" I innocently ask, as real tears begin to slide down my face.

Immediately I see the look of fire in all of their eyes'. They snap their heads towards Imayoshi-kun, who stares back in horror.

"Atta-"

Satsu-chan grabs my hand and drags me outside of the gym.

"Don't just use your looks to get what you want," she grumbles, as she begins to dig in the pocket of her blue sweater.

"You do the same thing!"

"Yes, but that's because everyone loves me," she laughs, as she hands me a few yen.

"What's this?"

"Up across the street around the corner, there's a convenience store. Go ahead and buy your-"

I knew it was rude to begin running as soon as she said convenience store, but skipping lunch had been a horrible mistake. I had been full from the earlier bread so I didn't think lunch was necessary. But after that grueling practice, I was so hungry.

"Wait for me there!" she yells, as she let's me leave.

I stand crouched down in the middle of an aisle, staring at a bag of chips with a scowl on my face. It was taunting me. All I could think about was ripping the bag open and stuffing my face. But Satsu-chan, being the cruel woman she was, gave me the exact amount of money for one apple. Even if she wasn't with me she wouldn't let me dare eat anything bad.

Wiping the drool from my mouth, I think about buying the apple, but suddenly the bag of chips has my attention again.

"Yukari?" says a familiar voice, very close to me.

Looking to my left, I see Aomine-kun is crouched down right beside me. For a second, it takes me a moment to register in his sudden proximity. Startled, I begin to fall back into the pile high of soda. Luckily, Aomine-kun grabs my arm, pulling me forward.

"Th-That was so scary," I breath, as I once again begin to physically beat my heart back to life. For a moment, I had seen my life flash before my eyes. Strangely enough, all I saw was Satsu-chan's cooking. Then did I know that that was a sign I was going to Hell.

I watch as Aomine-kun grabs two bags of the chips I had been glaring at. Grabbing my wrist, he drags me along to the register where he pays for a few other items as well.

The both of us stand in front of the shop, as I hungrily devour my second bag of chips. I couldn't have thanked Aomine-kun enough.

"I still have yer' ball, y'know," he says, as he nods towards his bag.

"I know. Thank you for holding onto it," I say cheerfully, as I crumple up the bag of chips. From there, I toss it into the waste bin, watching in shame as it misses. Heh, maybe if I had played in the Championship League, I probably still would have lost with my sorry excuse of a three pointer.

Picking the litter up and appropriately disposing it, I hear Aomine-kun ask what school I'm from.

"Seirin High," I say, as I rub my hands together, trying to rid free the evidence. Heh, now Satsu-chan wouldn't even know!

Turning around, I stop to stare as Aomine-kun continues to devour an already half eaten popsicle. It it had been so long since I had one. I quickly rub the drool away from the corner of my mouth. Unconsciously, I find myself shifting closer and closer to Aomine-kun.

Aomine-kun suddenly realizes my look and slowly turns to me, in fear of my face. Just as he thought, it was just as innocent and pleading as it would be.

Walking towards me, he asks if I want a bite.

Blushing, I quickly decline. Aomine-kun had already done so much for me. It'd be rude to also go ahead and eat his food.

"Don't look at me with that pathetic look if yer' not going to. Here, let me help you," he mutters lazily, as he gently cups my chin, prying my mouth open.

"Open wide. Tch, but that shouldn't be too hard, right?" he jokes, his voice definitely seductive and alluring. I go bright red when he forces me to take a bite. It didn't help at all when he said, "How does my popsicle taste?" It wasn't fair because this time, Aomine-kun was serious and then I just seemed like a pervert by taking it out of context.

Aomine-kun began to laugh as he watched me go a shade darker.

"**YUKI-CHAN!**" yells a familiar voice, and I immediately swallow the contents down. I begin to jump up and down as I get that annoying, numbing pain in my head.

Of course, there was Satsu-chan busting me for my eating habits once again. I had to wonder if she had planted some sort of device in my clothing.

"Sat-"

"And Aomine-kun! Why are you encouraging- EH? Your bag is full of junk, give me that!" yells Satsu-chan, as she reaches in to grab Aomine-kun's bag. All he does is stick the blue icy in his mouth and wave the bag tauntingly in front of Satsu-chan.

"I'll talk to you later, Aomine-kun. Come on Yuki-chan, we're going home!"

"Satsu-chan! W-Wait. I still need to grab my-"

"The ball was yours? I wonder why it said _Princess Player_ on the bottom. Now that I think of it, it is something you'd-"

"I was 5 when I wrote that!" I argue embarrassingly, growing a deep red.

"Hai, hai. Don't worry. Aomine-kun can give it to me. First, we need to discuss how you know him."

As she continues to drag me home, I make a mental note to never eat secretly from Satsu-chan ever again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Kaijo vs. Seirin!**

Pushing the boys' change room door open, I pray that they've all changed. And they have.

"Good morning," I say happily, as I give a warm smile to everyone.

"Yuki-chan, have you seen the coach yet?" asks Hyuuga-senpai, as he goes to clean his glasses.

"Riko-senpai? I did, actually. She was skipping dow-"

"She was skipping?!"

"Yeah. I asked her why and she told me to wait until morning's practice," I finish, as I wedge myself in between Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun. Who both seemed to be more than tense today.

"Do you think it is?" asks Hyuuga-senpai to the other senpai's. They all nod their head in agreement.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Well, whenever coach has been seen skipping, that means she's got us paired up with a good-no, great school."

"Eh, rea-"

Suddenly the door bursts open, welcoming an over happy coach. I use Kagami-kun's body to shield myself. She she was too happy.

"Today after school, you'll be up against Kaijou!" she laughs, with her hands on her hips.

"Is it just me or did anyone else just see a glimpse of Satan?" says Izuki-senpai, with a light smirk on his lips.

The coach smacks him with the clipboard, causing Izuki-senpai to fall into Koga-senpai.

"In all seriousness, coach. Do you think we stand a chance against Kise-kun and the others?" asks Furihata-kun, as he gives her a weary glance.

This time, Hyuuga-senpai is the one to hit him.

"Think about it. Coach wouldn't be putting us in if she didn't think we could take them. Plus, not all their members are like Kise, but that's no excuse to play easy," he says, his words of wisdom touching us all.

"Hyuuga-kun's right. I have faith in you guys. You all don't see what I see when I'm on the bench. The Seirin team this year is stronger and better. Keep that in mind and you'll be golden!" she says, that same, comforting smile forming on her lips. As long as Riko-senpai had that smile, there was no way any of us could fail her.

"All right. Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun and Yuki-chan. After looking at the information I have, I believe that with you three, defeating Kaijou won't be hard," says the coach, as she looks at us three.

"It's simple. Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun together alone are quite the team. But with your speed and quick thinking, we can have you bring the ball up the court and from there Kuroko-kun will slap the ball from you since passing to the other's will be hard considering, well, it's simply easy to seeing as how their arms are much longer. From there, Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun will make their plays. Understood?" says the coach, as she finishes drawing out her diagram.

I nod my head in agreement.

"Remember, don't rely on those two only. You've got your _anis_ (**older brothers**) on the court as well," she says, drawing stick figures to indicate my senpai's.

Glancing up at them, they all give me a warm, positive smile.

Blushing, I look away. It was odd, really. I had never had team like this where they considered me to be their family. Taking care of me and looking out for me like that. It was a lot to handle on an emotional level.

Dribbling the ball delicately in my left hand, I watch from the corner of my eyes as Kagami-kun's hand comes swatting in, trying to grab it. Quickly I bounce the ball from in between my legs behind me, using my right hand to grab the ball. But I almost fail when Kuroko-kun comes out of nowhere, almost misdirecting the ball. Pushing pass a persistent Kagami-kun, I begin running to the hoop, but Kagami-kun catches up and snatches the ball, passing it to Kuroko-kun.

Kagami-kun then begins to go long, waiting for the pass by Kuroko-kun. But since this time the ball wasn't in my hands, I could out run Kagami-kun. It was like the same time with Aomine-kun the other day. Kagami-kun could've scored, but instead he chose to underestimate me.

Jumping in front of Kagami-kun, I grab Kuroko-kun's pass and whip the ball down the court. Without hesitating, I run to go catch my own pass before it flies out of bounds. Catching the ball, I throw it into the hoop, earning myself a point.

Sweating, I wipe my forehead with the back of my hand.

"Yuki-chan, that that was incredible!" shouts Riko-senpai, as everyone gives me surprised looks.

"Thank-"

"**BUT YOU THREE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING TOGETHER, NOT PLAYING AGAINST!**" she shouts, a dangerous glint forming in her chestnut eyes.

I fall down, shocked at her intensity. Kuroko-kun walks over and tries to help me up. But I see that he's quite fatigued, so I only end up pulling him down besides me. Kagami-kun has to walk over and shamefully lift the two of us up.

Practice had been hitting the two hour mark now. Coach was pushing everyone which made me think if we'd all have enough gas left for last period. I had been working intensely with everyone, trying new tricks, techniques, everything for this game. Although it was only a practice game, it would determine the rest of Seirin's outcomes for games to come. Especially the ones in the Inter-High preliminaries.

"All right. Great practice everyone. We'll meet here during last period and we'll all walk to Kaijou!"

"Yes, coach!"

Walking to the girls' changing room, I note Kuroko-kun behind me. This time, I'm not frightened. Playing with him had made me become more aware of his presence.

"Kuro-kun?"

"I saw you yesterday at the convenience store," he says, as he wipes the sweat off from his face.

"Eh, really? How come you didn't say hi?"

"You looked busy with Aomine-kun. So-"

"How do you know Aomine-kun?" I ask, as I hand him my water bottle. I noticed his was completely empty.

"He was also my team mate at Tei-"

"He he's one of the Generation of Miracles?" I scoff, my voice meek and drained.

"Yes. Back then, Aomine-kun was one of the strongest, no, the strongest player I knew. We were a team, just like Kagami-kun and I. Until Aomine-kun realized that he could do everything himself. Do everything better than everyone. Eventually, Aomine-kun became unstoppable," he finishes, as he takes a swig of water.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I close my eyes in stress and disbelief.

Aomine-kun was part of the Generation of Miracles. No wonder his movements that day were almost inhuman. The feeling I had got when I played with him, it was a chilling one. Now figuring out that Aomine-kun was one of them, it oddly enough didn't raise any fear in me. That day, I remember what I had seen. A helpless child, so lost and confused. That was the real Aomine-kun right?

"Kuro-"

Looking around, Kuroko-kun had vanished. I was now slightly upset that Satsu-chan hadn't said anything about Aomine-kun and the Generation of Miracles. Why was she hiding it?

"So this is Kaijou!" says Furihata-kun, he and the other first years in awe.

"That's weird. Why do they have the other half of the gym blocked off?" muses Riko-senpai, as we all follow her to the coach of Kaijou's team.

"Let's get this game started. My boys need to keep practicing. Kise, get over here!" yells their coach, ushering for Kise-kun to come to him.

"Yes-"

"You're our strongest player, we don't need you using your-"

The coach suddenly stops as he see's me in his peripheral vision. Unlike Riko-senpai who was in the schools uniform, I was in Seirin's track suit, just like the other guys.

"Huh? You must have a lot of spirit for the team coming dressed up like that," he points out, nodding towards my outfit. Immediately the surrounding boys of Kaijou look my way. A lot of them begin to smirk and talk amongst themselves while looking at me.

"Please forgive me. But I'm not here as a cheerleader. I'm here as a player for Seirin," I say politely, as I flash him a genuine smile, hoping to change his perspective on things.

But for some reason, that only causes everyone to grow agitated. Everyone but Kise-kun and their #4 player.

The coach begins to laugh and comment as to how absurd Seirin was for letting a girl of my stature play against his boys.

Ignoring him, I walk off to set my bag down by the bench.

As I do so, I feel someone behind me.

It was two boys of the Kaijou team.

Kise-kun and someone I didn't know.

"I hope you'll be cheering for me," says the dark haired boy, as he clasps my hands in his. I stare at him wide eyed as he suddenly begins to lean in.

Kise-kun grabs him by the back and tows him away.

"You said you'd introduce me to some hot girls!" he cries out.

"I didn't say that one, Moriyama-kun!" Kise-kun replies, as he continues to drag him away from me. For a moment, his eyes lock on me and a cold, hard shiver runs up and down my spine. Something about him was really off.

"Yuki-chan, get over here!" orders the coach.

Running to the group, I stand beside Koga-senpai.

"All right, since they're not putting in Kise-kun, we have to give them a reason why. I wanted to save Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun until they do. So Yuki-chan, Hyuuga-kun, Izuki-kun, Mitobe-kun and Koga-kun, I want you all starting first. I'm not sure how their captain's style is, but don't go easy on any of them. He's strong and won't go down without a fight, am I clear?"

"Yes, coach!"

"Alright. Get-"

"But, don't you think it's a little unfair that we're using half the court?" says Furihata-kun, as he nods towards the other side where the boys are practicing.

"I know just the way to get them to use the full court," says Kagami-kun, a sly look appearing on his face.

And here we were now, using the full court. As the game had begun, the set up had changed. Instead, Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun had been subbed in for Koga-senpai and myself. I had watched in amazement as Kagami-kun broke the metal frame of the hoop right off. This ultimately forced Kaijou to let us use the full court.

Sitting on the bench, I watch as Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun apologize to Kaijou's coach. But I could tell that Kagami-kun doesn't mean it as he apologizes with a large smirk on his lips.

"Looks like they're putting Kise-kun in now," says my coach, as she looks at him with a steely gaze.

"Alright, new plan. Yuki-chan, I want you sitting out for now. We'll use formation number 2 and see how that goes."

It was now already the 3rd quarter. Kaijou was still ahead about 9 points, but that was nothing to be proud of. With every point we got, they matched. Not to mention that Kise-kun was stronger than we had all imagined. He had managed to make a perfect copy of Kagami-kun, his posture and dribbling perfect. That skill was something to be feared of. But with Kuroko-kun and his misdirection, he was managing to pull the team up. Growing stronger and stronger by the minute.

But what did worry me was that Kuroko-kun was starting to burn out. I could see the look of fatigue all over not only him, but everyone.

Suddenly, Kuroko-kun falls to the ground by an accidental hit from Kise-kun. Jumping up, I'm about to run to him but Koga-senpai pulls myself back down. The whistle hadn't been blown yet. We couldn't have too many men on the court until then.

I watch as Hyuuga-senpai and Kagami-kun run to a bleeding Kuroko-kun.

"I'm fine. The game's just getting started," says Kuroko-kun, as he then after falls to the ground.

A panic stricken Hyuuga-senpai immediately brings him to Riko-senpai and the others as she cleans him up.

After a few moments, it's deliberated that he has a light concussion. He needed rest right now and there was no way she could put him back in.

"Yuki-chan!" says Riko-senpai, as she continues to tend to Kuroko-kun.

Without further words, I know what to do.

Unzipping my track suit, I pull off my white shirt, revealing my Seirin High jersey. The number 1 crisply pressed into the middle of my abdomen. When it came to taking off my track pants, I can't help but peak a glance at the Kaijou team.

They they made no attempt to hide their leering eyes! Shuffling, I position Kagami-kun as a shield.

"Hey! What're-"

Before Kagami-kun has time to look down at what I'm doing, I've already changed.

I give him a reassuring pat on the back and place my track suit into my bag.

Unlike the guys, I chose not to tuck my shirt into my shorts. To everyone else, the extra piece of clothing came in the way of dribbling, but to me, it was also another factor into helping my movements.

The referee blows the whistle, signalling the time out was over.

Before I head out onto the court, Riko-senpai gives me a few pointers and reassuring words.

This was my time to finally prove myself useful in a game.

But, I felt a little uncomfortable when I realized my check was, what was his name, Moriyama-kun? The one who had tried to make his moves on me earlier.

"Number 1? Don't you think that's a little elementary?" he says, as he nods towards my jersey number.

His words unfazed me, as I know the true meaning behind my chosen number. It had been my late father's number when he had played basketball back in his days. I had thought that my brothers would have chosen the number, but they admitted that wearing his number would be too much of a burden. So instead, I gladly took that burden. No, that opportunity to play with my father by my side. I'd show him that this was what a woman could do.

The referee blows the whistle, signalling for the game to begin. I sense that Kagami-kun has grabbed possession of the ball. I can't help but flash Moriyama-kun a smile before I slide past him.

"Moriyama! What're you, asleep? Get on your check!" yells Kaijou's coach, yelling at the boy I had just left stranded.

Bobbing back and forth through Kaijou's players, I've easily made it up behind Kagami-kun. He tosses the ball behind him without looking, noticing my presence already. Grabbing the ball, I gasp as not only Moriyama-kun, but Kasamatsu-kun, Kaijou's captain, were each right behind me. Kagami-kun had already ran to the hoop, where he was waiting for the play to happen. No one thought that Kaijou would be this quick to respond to me and already think of double teaming.

But unlike the others, this was no shock to me. Boys seemed to be thinking that double, even triple teaming me meant no escape. But all it did to me was open up more opportunities.

Bouncing the ball through Moriyama-kun's legs, I have just about enough room to slide in between the little space between Kasamatsu-kun and him.

Grabbing the ball I had just thrown, Kise-kun suddenly appears right in front of me.

I stumble back, almost falling. His pressure on me was threatening to crush me!

Faking for a pass to the right, I loop around and bounce the ball to Mitobe-senpai, who then passes it to Kagami-kun. I watch with a grin as he slams the ball in.

Smiling, I put my hands on my thighs and take slow, deep breaths.

"Not bad,_ kitten_," says Kise-kun, as he gives me a warm smile before running off.

Did did he just call me a kitten?

This wasn't good. The game against Kaijou was drawing a near and it didn't look too good for Seirin. Less than a minute left, we were tied. 98-98.

Sitting on the bench during a time out, I was nervous. What if- no, the last thing I should be doing is thinking about that. We'd win for sure.

Suddenly, Kuroko-kun wakes up, rubbing his head in a daze. He looks at the scoreboard, his expression unreadable.

"Put me in," he says, as he stands up.

"But-"

"Please. I can handle it."

Riko-senpai gives him a worried look before agreeing.

"This is the big play we've been waiting for. Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun, Yuki-chan, you know that play I had you three working on?"

"Yes?"

"I want you guys to do it. Understand?"

"Yes!"

"Good, now go win!"

Standing across from my check, he flashes me an apologetic smile.

"Say, after we win, how about I take you for some ice-"

Once again, I fly by Moriyama-kun as the whistle blows.

Kasamatsu-kun runs to Moriyama-kun and kicks him in the back.

"Idiot, what're you doing?!"

Standing by the hoop with Kagami-kun, I watch as Hyuuga-senpai brings the ball up with the help of Izuki-senpai. But in between their pass, Kasamatsu-kun comes out of nowhere, steeling the ball and racing down the court with his other team mates.

Looking at Kagami-kun, he signals for me to do my magic. But even he has a skeptical look on his face. That doesn't worry me because I'd prove to not only Kagami-kun, but the team of Kaijou what my biggest talent was.

Weaving by the players of Kaijou, I hear their coach yelling at Moriyama-kun to get himself on me. But if he only knew that he'd be wasting his energy.

Pumping my legs, I one by one pass each player of Kaijou, catching up to Kasamatsu-kun. Appearing beside him, I flash him a smile a flirty smile.

"What?!"

Suddenly stopping, I watch as Kasamatsu-kun has become distracted by my sudden presence, so he doesn't notice a waiting Kuroko-kun on his left when he steels the ball back.

Racing back to my side of the court, I run away from Kuroko-kun to the three point line.

For a second, it looks as if Kuroko-kun will use his misdirection as he'll be passing to me, but the others will think it'll go to Hyuuga-senpai.

But instead, Kuroko-kun passes to me, all the members of Kaijou are already by Hyuuga-senpai. They wouldn't make it in time to get to me.

Throwing the ball back at Kagami-kun, I fail to remember that Kise-kun was his check. In order to keep possession of the ball in Seirin's hands, he has no choice but to pass to Kuroko-kun.

Kuroko-kun looks around him, unsure of what to do. From Kagami-kun he was supposed to put it in the basket and then we'd have won. But Kise-kun was proving to be a real nuisance right now.

As Kuroko-kun and me make eye contact, Kise-kun calculates from this that he'll fake his misdirection again and actually pass to me. So when Kise-kun comes in front of me, he's shocked to see Kagami-kun using Kuroko-kun's head as support for his jump as he slams the ball in.

As soon as he does, the buzzer goes off, the last score being 100-98. Seirin wins.

For a moment all is quiet. No one can believe that a team like Kaijuo had been beaten by Seirin.

Cheering, I watch as my team mates begin to celebrate. I'm about to join them too when I look at Kise-kun's face.

When I saw it, it made my heart tear. He he was crying.

And then I understood. This was the first time he had loss. First time he had tasted the bitterness of defeat. It was almost endearing in a way to see someone as tough as him cry like that.

"You did your best, Kise-kun. No need to cry. We both know you'll do better next time," I say softly, as I reach up to wipe his tears away.

He looks at me with a shocked expression, staring at my small form. Slowly I watch a small smile creep upon his lips.

"Idiot. What're you, a cry baby?" yells Kasamatsu-kun, as he kicks Kise-kun in the back.

Kise-kun falls down, having Kasamatsu-kun pick him back up.

"Idiot. You did the best you could do," says Kasamatsu-kun, his voice full of brotherly love. I watch as he sweetly rubs the blonde boy's hair.

Walking away from the two, I couldn't help but think of Aomine-kun. He hadn't cried when- no, I didn't beat Aomine-kun. I simply outsmarted him. I could only say those words once Touou and Seirin compete once and for all.

But as I take a step, the muscle in my left calf doesn't want to comply appropriately. Instead, a piercing pain stretches up to my leg, causing me to fall down on my knee's.

The loud thud of my body causes everyone to look my way. Immediately both players from each teams come to my aid.

"Whoa," I say quietly in astonishment. I was so excited to get into the game that I had forgotten to stretch before hand.

"Yuki-chan, what's wrong?" asks a panic stricken Riko-senpai.

"Heh, it's nothing really. I just need help getting up," I laugh, hiding my nervous voice.

Grabbing Kuroko-kun's hand, he helps me up but as soon as I apply pressure on my calf, I slip and crash into Kuroko-kun.

"You're not fine at all," says Koga-senpai, as he gives me a worried look.

"It looks like a strained muscle. We'll have to carry her home," she says, as she pokes at my calf.

"I'll carry-"

Kasamatsu-kun slaps Moriyama-kun away, "Like hell you will!"

I give Kaijou's captain a thankful look.

Walking home now, I awkwardly sit on the back of Mitobe-senpai, who had just traded with Koga-senpai. I didn't like that fact that after a hard game the guys had to carry me home. Kuroko-kun had said he had no trouble carrying me home, but when they put me on his back, Kuroko-kun immediately collapsed. I apologized quickly because I thought it was because of my weight, but he insisted that he was too weak.

So instead, the boys took turns carrying me. Which made me realize that it was indeed because I was too heavy.

It was now Kagami-kun's turn to carry me. He had been fighting the issue the whole time but had no choice to comply since it was Riko-senpai's demands.

As Kagami-kun stands tall, I stumble to catch my balance. By doing so, I end up tugging on Kagami-kun's hair. He growls in response.

Since Kagami-kun was so tall, it was as if I was seeing a whole new world from up here.

"I can see my house!"

"That's a little much!" yells Kagami-kun, as he notices that I was taking a swig at his height.

Smiling down at him, I notice a ball being bounced behind us. It wasn't just any ball, it was my lucky ball. Turning my body around on Kagami-kun was hard, but I saw him. That all too familiar tanned skinned and navy hair.

It was Aomine-kun, walking away while dribbling my ball. For a moment he stops, and peers over his shoulder. We both lock eyes. I'm about to wave at him but he ignores me and continues to walk further and further away.

Upset that he chose to ignore me, I forget to hold on to Kagami-kun with two hands. Falling off, I wait for the impact of the cold, hard ground but instead I'm cushioned with something much more softer.

Looking behind me, I yelp as I see a patch of light blue.

"G'yaaaah! I killed Kuro-kun!" I cry, as I try to shake the boy back to life.

Suddenly, someone places a comforting hand on my shoulder. Looking up, it was Izuki-senpai.

"I'm sorry. But there's nothing more we can-"

"Don't say scary stuff like that!" yells Hyuuga-senpai, as he slaps Izuki-senpai on the head.

Immediately everyone begins to yell at each other and suddenly the blames being put on the quiet Mitobe-senpai.

I sit on Kuroko-kun quietly, reveling in the personalities of my team. Never had I met a bunch like them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Why?**

"He's huge!" speaks Hyuuga-senpai for us all, as we all take a look at the photo Riko-senpai had taken of Shinkyo's tall, foreign ace.

I stand quietly, listening to the chatter of everyone. For some reason, I didn't feel so good. Emotionally wise. Satsu-chan and myself had gotten into a fight yesterday when I arrived home. She nagged me about how I should have remembered to stretch properly and what I was thinking. She then brought up the topic of Aomine-kun, something I didn't want to hear about considering he had ignored me.

_"He's just like that, Yuki-chan. Lately, Aomine-kun likes to keep to himself," she says, as she places the heating pad gently on my calf._

_"Still, ignoring me like- wait, how come you didn't tell me he was in the Generation-"_

_"Because, I didn't want you to get put off by it," she says, as she continues to examine my leg._

_"You say that like I'm attracted to him!"_

_"You are."_

_"How do you know!?"_

_"Because of that response. The first thing would've been to deny it, not question it," she says happily._

_"I I don't like-"_

_"It's okay if you do, Yuki-chan. If you and Aomine-kun got to together then that would mean I could spend less time worrying about him."_

_"Well, did you tell him I play-"_

_"Nope."_

_"Maybe that's why he ignored me. And I thought you'd get my ball back?"_

_"Eh? Oh, Aomine-kun told me he didn't need anyone doing favours for him. So he said you'd come to him soon enough."_

My eyebrow twitches in annoyance. The way she worded that made me sound like a stalker.

"Yuki-chan!"

Shaking, the ball in my hand drops and rolls across the gym. I look up at the coach, who has a worried expression on her face.

"H-Hai?"

"Are you okay? Please don't tell me your leg-"

"N-No! Please, I'm fine, really. I just have my head in the clouds," I joke, as I scratch the back of my head.

"That reminds me. Kagami-kun, how's the weather up there?" says Izuki-senpai, with a grin on his face.

We all remain quiet, finding no amusement in Izuki-senpai's lame joke.

"Yuki-chan, I want you to stay here when we go play Shinkyo," says the coach, as she taps her clipboard with her pen.

"What?" I scoff in disbelief, as I can't believe what I was hearing. Did they not think-

"You don't look well today and I'd much rather have you stay here and practice than to have something happen to you at Shinkyo. Just this one game, alright? We'll win and come right back. Understood?"

Reluctantly, I nod my head in agreement.

As the boys begin to leave, they all rub my head for good luck before they do so. It made my eyes water as to how much they cared about me. Waving goodbye from the gym, I decide that I might as well go home than to class.

Grabbing my bag, I instead decide to head to the basketball cage considering I still didn't know how to get home.

Without a basketball to play with, I sit on the floor, bringing my knees up to my chin. Like a lonely child, I sit and lay my head in between my legs.

How I wished I could go to Shinkyo and be with the boys. My boys.

I startle awake when I hear the sound of a basketball hitting the backboard. To my surprise, it's Aomine-kun.

"You shouldn't skip school," I mumble, as I get up from the ground.

"Speak for yourself," he says, as he runs to grab the ball.

"One on one?" I ask, as I walk towards him with a hopeful smile.

He shakes his head, his response a no. A little dejected, I go back to my corner and text Satsu-chan.

"_Aomine-kun is being mean._** :(**"

Flipping my phone shut, Aomine-kun's face is right in front of me.

Yelping, I stumble back and fall on my butt, my back pressed up against the cage.

"Who was that?" he asks, his face unreadable. Just like Kuroko-kun's!

"S-Satsu-chan," I stammer hopelessly, as Aomine-kun continues to draw closer in.

"Ehhhh? Satsuki doesn't like being texted to during class. You should know that the most. Yer' lying to me," he says lazily, as he rests the side of his face on his hand.

"I-I'm not!"

"Then let me see yer' phone."

"W-What? No-"

"If it was Satsuki then you'd have no problem, right?"

He he had a point there. Plus, I had nothing to hide. It was Satsu-chan I had texted too after all.

I reluctantly hand him my phone, as I watch him go through it's contents.

I sigh a breath of relief as I slowly find the floor to become more and more comforting.

Suddenly, I hear the noise of my phone, signalling I had a new message. Must be Satsu-

Jolting up right, I freeze my hand mid air.

The message I had sent to Satsu-chan. It talked about none other than-

"Hm? A message from Satsuki. She never sends me replies back. What does she want?" drawls Aomine-kun.

"W-Wait-"

"**Reply to:** _Aomine-kun is being mean._** :(**

**Reply from:** _Well, he is an **Aho**-mine anyways. He has a reason to be upset._ **:J**"

I watch as a vein pops out from his neck, after had just reading the message out loud.

"Aho- I mean Ao-"

Biting my tongue, I watch as Aomine-kun begins to text Satsu-chan back. But I can't help but notice how his left hand awkwardly reaches out towards me. I then notice that my skirt had risen up. Quickly pulling it back down, I blush, raising my head down in shame. That was so un-lady like!

"Ao-"

He holds his finger up to my mouth, silencing me.

After a few minutes, he tosses my phone onto my lap.

"What did-"

"Nothing. Get up. Instead of one on one, let me help you with those pathetic lay ups of yours," he says, as he begins to get up himself.

Excited, I shove my phone into my bag and forget about what had just happened. This was the perfect chance to practice a skill I was terrible at while everyone else was at Shinkyo trying their best.

"Here. Try to do one," he says, as he hands me my ball.

Grabbing it, I dribble a couple of times before running in. Jumping up, I stagger mid air to keep my balance, but I still somehow manage to keep the ball in.

"How was it?" I ask, with a hopeful look on my face.

"I'd be lying if I said it was good," he says flatly, as he grabs the ball back from me, setting it on the floor beside him.

"Y-You really are blunt, Aomine-kun," I say, as the smile on my face slowly begins to fade. He notices my sudden change in emotion and sighs out. I look up as the tall man walks past me, stopping behind my form.

"What're-"

I stop as I suddenly feel Aomine-kun press his body into mine, his large hands grabbing my hips tightly and protectively.

"These," he whispers into my ear, as he forces me to sway my hips from side to side, "are the problem."

"What what do you mean?" I choke out, happy that he couldn't see my red face.

"I noticed you not only use them as a distraction, but you use them to run and move like you do. Yer' so use to moving your hips that when you go in for the jump, you're unconsciously moving them, causing you to go off balance," he finishes, his hands still firmly planted on what would be my strength and now weakness.

Aomine-kun was right! Now that I thought about it, whenever I walked, my hips had to sway more than usual. Something Satsu-chan had always pointed out, saying that I was only doing it for the attention of other boys.

All of a sudden, Aomine-kun digs my body deeper into his, leaving no room in between. His body is big, warm and most certainly inviting. I feel myself relaxing into him and I realize that he notices it. Without looking at him, I could tell he was grinning.

"A-Aomine-kun?" I mumble quietly, trying to break free from his hold. I noticed an older lady walking by the cage looking at the both of us.

"Hm?" he mutters, as he keeps a firm grip on me. He had no intentions of letting go already.

"How come you ignored me yesterday?"

For a moment, he remains quiet before answering my question.

"You were with those guy's from Seirin. It annoyed me that you went with them to their game but rejected me when I had asked asked you "

Aomine-kun stumbles, finding it hard to say the right words. He couldn't say that, but he had no problem touching me like this?

"But, I didn't go to their game. I was play-"

The sound of my phone going off brings my attention back to reality. This time, Aomine-kun let's me go. Running to my bag, I flip my phone open and almost have a heart attack.

Not one, but 5 missed calls from Satsu-chan and 2 new messages.

Reading the first one, I couldn't help but laugh at the pictures. First, it was one of Koga-senpai and Furihata-kun taking a funny picture behind Riko-senpai. The second was one of Riko-senpai hitting them both. I send them a quick reply back, asking how the game was going.

Opening up Satsu-chan's message, I remember that Aomine-kun had sent her something. What was it?

"**Reply to:** _Aomine-kun is being mean._ **:(**

**Reply from:** _Well, he is an Ahomine anyways. He has a reason to be upset._** :J**

**Reply to:** _Satsuki, you always find a good moment to interrupt us._ **;)**"

What did Aomine-kun mean by that? Wait, there was more. A picture had been sent as well. Opening it up, the blood drains from my face, my phone slipping out of my hands.

When I had noted earlier that Aomine-kun's hand had been reached out to me in an awkward position when he was texting Satsu-chan, it was because when I had fallen, my skirt had lifted further up, revealing my upper thighs. Aomine-kun had placed his hands accordingly so it looked like he was about to do something. And Satsu-chan had no reason to doubt that the picture wasn't me considering the uniform was of Seirin and I was pretty much the only girl who wore her skirt with tights.

Slowly looking behind me, Aomine-kun stands in the corner, with an oblivious look on his face. Grabbing my ball beside me, I stand up, giving him a look. On other occasions, I would've been angry and tried to have hurt the person with my lucky ball, seeing as how I never missed when I was angry. But instead, I let the ball drop from my hands, giving Aomine-kun a solemn look. Picking my bag up, I run past him, out of the cage, and back to Seirin.

Aomine-kun had promised to help me with my lay up, but that was only a distraction so I wouldn't look at my phone and send a quick reply back to Satsu-chan. With the time he had bought and me not answering her back, anyone would be led to believe that the two of us were doing something. All Aomine-kun did was try to get close to me. Sure he brought up the good fact that it was my hips, but other than that, I was just being used to his amusement. And I let him hold me like that because I sincerely did like Aomine-kun.

Being played out like a girl who was easy was much horrible than being ridiculed on the court for being one. Aomine-kun really didn't care about my feelings. Why would he? He was one of the Generation of Miracles and I was just a girl who was decent in basketball. I wasn't worth his time. I'd never be.

Sitting alone in the gym for a good half hour, I continuously check my phone for any word back from the team. The game must've been over. They couldn't have lost, could they?

But being alone and away from my team, it made me really realize how much time I spent with them. It had only been a week but I loved them all like family.

Without them here with me and Satsu-chan upset at me, I felt so lonely. All I wanted was my senpai's, the first years, Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun's banter, and my role model, Riko-senpai.

It was pathetic, really. Away from them for almost an hour and I was so upset. I relied too much on other people's happiness to make myself happy.

Flipping open my phone, I had one new text. It was from Aomine-kun?! When did he- that's right. He must've put his number in when he had my phone.

"Reply to: You keep leaving yer' ball with me."

That's all it said. No apology. Nothing.

"You really are an **Aho**mine," I mumble, as my eyes begin to water. Deleting his message and number from my phone, I rub my nose. There'd be no reason to talk to him. I'd get Satsu-chan to get the ball back. Or leave it with him. Anything but seeing him would do.

I was much too emotional for a girl who played basketball.

Suddenly, I hear the comforting laughs of my team, making their way into the gym.

They one by one enter, all with happy faces. Then did I know that they had won their match between Shinkyo.

Getting off the ground, I run towards my _anis_ (**older brothers**) first, jumping on them all.

Hugging them, I hide back my tears. It was so good to see them.

"Eh? _Imouto_, are you okay?!" they cry out, immediately beginning to panic. This time, I can't help but cry tears of joy. They were back home and had fulfilled their promise to me by winning against Shinkyo. It was more than I could have asked for.

"It's fine. She just missed us," says coach, as she places a comforting hand on top of my head, rubbing it gently.

Smiling into the warm chest of Hyuuga-senpai, the thoughts of Aomine-kun are all gone. Instead, thoughts about my team and the Inter-High preliminaries are replaced. I couldn't waste my time on boy troubles. Basketball and helping the team to victory was the most important thing. From now on, I'd be training relentlessly and for once listen to Satsu-chan about eating right. Anything to get my mind off of him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Seirin's Models!**

"Kaga-kun?" I say softly, as I sit with him while he eats lunch. This was because I found it hard to make friends with people who didn't share basketball as a common interest.

But to my disappointment, Kagami-kun wanted to be alone, left to eat his 10 burgers. Kuroko-kun was nowhere to be seen. Unless he was sitting with the both of us, but we hadn't seemed to notice yet.

"What?" he says irritated, through a mouthful of food.

"Those are really bad for you," I state, as I can't help but stare at him with a bored expression. I hadn't eaten this morning because Satsu-chan was the first to wake and prepare breakfast and lunch for the both of us. But seeing as how she wouldn't talk to me and I didn't have time in the morning to prepare something, I dragged my already thin body to school, starving. I refused to eat anything unhealthy from the school's lunch. The only fruit they had was already beginning to grow old.

So instead, I sat quietly and filled myself up from the inviting smell of Kagami-kun's lunch.

"Yer' not my mom," he argues back, stuffing another burger in his mouth.

"My, my. So this is what it feels like to be Satsu-chan," I muse out loud, thinking about my angry cousin.

When she came to pick me up, she yelled at me, refusing to hear my explanation. She didn't believe that I hadn't gone with Seirin to their game because she knew how passionate I was about basketball and that "you wouldn't give up that easily". Her words shocked me because she was right. My thoughts lately were going cloudy because of Aomine-kun. My reason for playing basketball had slowly been slipping away without even me knowing it.

When her and I got home, she continued to ignore me and Aomine-kun. For the rest of the night, she spent it in her room working on her analyses of other teams. Having also upset myself, I skipped dinner and had my bath before doing my homework.

"Who?" asks Kagami-kun, not really wanting to know.

"No one. You just keep eat-"

Suddenly he begins to choke. Well, who wouldn't when it came to stuffing full sized hamburgers into their mouths?

"Ba-ka-ga-miiii," I cheer happily, as I slap him on the back. He begins to choke some more as he hears my insult.

"Kagami-kun, please drink this," says Kuroko-kun, appearing from nowhere with a water bottle.

I watch sadly as Kagami-kun's body goes rigid, before his face falls into the mountain of burgers. It seems the shock of both my insults and Kuroko-kun's invisibility had killed him.

"Kuro-kun, where've you been? Bakagami-kun was sitting here so lonely," I say, my voice fake with concern as I make room for Kuroko-kun to sit.

Suddenly, Kagami-kun comes back to life, shooting me a dangerous glare.

"I was-"

"That's alright, Kagami-kun. I wish I could say the same, but I think it's good for us to spend some time apar-"

Kagami-kun realizes his voice will continued to be ignored, so he resorts to shaking Kuroko-kun, trying to put some sense into him.

I ignore the two, looking out of the classroom window. The sun wasn't out, the clouds had taken over. A cold breeze in the air. Just the more reason to go out and buy some new tights.

"Alright team. I've called this meeting for a very special reason. Friday after school, I want us all to spend 2 nights and 3 days at the Sakura resort. There, we'll go through some pre-training and planning for our first game at the Inter-High preliminaries against Seiho. But, I'm saving my money for the training camp in the summer and I know all of you are broke. So, we need to come up with a way to pay for our little trip. Any ideas?" says the coach, as her eyes scan the group, landing last on me.

"Why not a bake sale?" I ask, as I lean my body against the railing of the roof, crossing my arms over my bust.

"Eh? What was that Yuki-chan?" she says, as she takes a few steps to listen again.

Suddenly, Izuki-senpai runs and covers my mouth.

"She said calendar, a basketball calendar!" he says, his voice urgent and loud.

He still has my mouth covered, muffling my words. That's not what I said at all! I watch through cautious eyes as Izuki-senpai gives a thumbs up to the other boys.

"A calendar? Like that's gonna work!" says Kagami-kun, as he shoves his hands into his black slacks.

"Wait a minute. It actually could. I mean, our basketball team this year is quite a pretty-"

"Thanks coach," cheers Izuki and Koga-senpai, as I watch helplessly as they're almost thrown off the roof.

"Everyone but you two! Anyways, the boys are all really fit. Girls would instantaneously buy it. And there's also the two beauties of the bunch, Yuki-chan and myself," glee's Riko-senpai, as she cutely sticks her tongue out.

"I only see one-"

Riko-senpai begins to hit Izuki-senpai once again. His jokes lately were beginning to get too- wait a minute, did Riko-senpai mean that I had to be in the calendar? That boys would be buying the calendar for whatever reason! The thought of having my picture in anywhere but my house gave me an uneasy feeling. Plus, I've heard that if the calendar is a hit, that other schools even vouch to get their hands on them!

"B-But, we don't have a professional photographer!" I blurt out, trying to come up with any good of a reason to be out of this calendar. For a moment, everyone is quiet, realizing that my point was true.

How could we find a photographer who'd be willing to do it all for-

"My sister's a professional photographer. I'm sure if I ask her she'll do it for free. In fact, she could come tomorrow!" says Furihata-kun, as he starts to pull out his phone, calling his sister. I watch horrified as the boys begin to tell him that he'd finally done something good. Furihata-kun's smile fades away by those words of sarcasm.

"K-Kaga-kun. You really can't be happy about this calendar, right? Just think about all the girls who'd have your picture in their room!" I say, as I try to sway him over. But instead, I watch as a glaze look overcomes his face. N-Not him too!

"Kuro-"

"Check out these guns," he says flatly, as he shows me his "guns".

I sit back and watch as Kagami-kun begins to fight with him as to how he had none. Burying my face in my hands, I ask myself what the world coming to. And just what type of pictures would be going in this calendar?!

I stand quietly off into the corner of the gym, as the senpai's begin their individual and group shots of themselves to put in the calendar. Hearing their laughs made me happy, but hearing Furihata-kun's sister say, "_How about a shirtless?_" made me cringe with fear.

After going home yesterday from school, Satsu-chan texted me saying to walk by myself. That was it. No, "_I hope you won't get lost_" or "_I hope you had a good day_" like she usually did. It was nothing but silence. But, being a good cook like I was, I had managed to prepare a delicious, nutritious feast for her and I. Something like an apology. I waited until 8 for her, but she didn't show up. Worried, I sent her a text. She apologized and said that her and Aomine-kun had bought something to eat. Not texting her back, too in shock that she took Aomine-kun's side and decided to forgive him. It was something that was eating me up. Not touching the food I made either, I packed it up as a bento and decided to distribute it out tomorrow for lunch to the team.

Now here I was, after had just eating the lunch with them, cowering in the corner until it was my turn. At first, I wasn't too nervous, but then I was nothing but that when Furihata-kun's sister brought in a wardrobe and make-up crew. That meant that this calendar was a for sure deal.

"Yuki-chan, it's about time we get you ready," said a curvy, short, but beautiful women. Her hair and make up was so professionally done. I looked like a rag doll compared to her.

Short of words, she gently takes me to the girls' changing room, prepping me for my photo's. To my surprise, Riko-senpai had already been done with make up and hair. Since her hair was short, there wasn't much to do. But since it had a little length, they decided to curl some of it loosely and then pin it up high in the back, making her hair look fuller and longer. Riko-senpai wore little make up, revealing her already beautiful features. She was absolutely stunning. With her alone the boys would be lining up to buy the calendar!

"I-I don't know about this," I say quietly and hesitantly, as I look at myself in the reflection. Whenever I played ball, my hair was tied up in a high pony. No, not even playing ball I still wore my hair like that. Only down whenever I took a shower. Today, my hair was down and straightened and styled to perfection. Completely different to my coach's sophisticated curls. For myself, they did the same with Riko-senpai when it came to make up, but they made my eyes dark and instead of a red lipstick like Riko-senpai, they made mine a light, almost nude pink.

But that wasn't the part that made me uncomfortable. It was my uniform. It was a Seirin high uniform, but they had it tailored to hug my bodies curves exactly. The shorts were shorter than usual, hugging my thighs. To everyone else, this would be completely normal to be seeing a model in this type of length of shorts. But never showing my thighs to other's, I almost felt naked.

But everyone complemented myself and said that I was breathtaking. Not believing them and wanting to hide in the change room forever, Riko-senpai had to push me out the door in order for the shots to be done.

As soon as I got out, I saw that a photo had just been taken of Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun comparing their "guns". They were serious about this. And I had to be too if they were. All I had to remember that I was contributing to us all going to a resort to practice. This calendar shoot was all for basketball. My one and only love. Swallowing my pride, I began the shoot, taking pictures at first with just the coach, doing girly things like holding hands to her "training" me with that whistle of hers. From there, photo's began with the boys. They ranged from funny to serious. One of the shots I took was me standing on Kagami-kun's back with a ball in my hand as he did a push up. Another was myself lying on my side, as the senpai's held my body. I couldn't had been more embarrassed when they pretended to be out of breath when they were holding me.

And then finally, the last photo is of the team, but the coach insists she wishes not to be apart of this one. That this idea was hers.

Mortified, I stand in front of the camera with the boys behind me. In my grasp were a couple of black leashes, all connected to the collar's around their necks. Each saying their names on it, in a handwriting that suited their personality. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw that Izuki-senpai's name was written in Comic Sans.

But other than that, I felt bad because I was all holding the people I respected the most by a leash.

"Uhm, Riko-senpai, don't you think this is sending the wrong message?" I say hesitantly, as I stand still for the hairstylist as she sets my hair.

"Eh, how so?"

"Well, people will think that the boys all do say what I want because I'm a girl. Plus, it makes me look like I treat them like they're dogs!"

She gives me a thoughtful look before she smiles, "Well they are dogs!"

I could feel the boys tensing up behind me.

"Not just any dogs. They're all fierce, competitive, determined and well trained. That's the message I'm trying to portray. And with you holding the leashes it only symbolizes you as a peace keeper, always calming them down like I've seen you do before," she says, as a warm, heartfelt smile overcomes her lips.

"S-Senpai," I stammer, taken aback by her sweet words.

"Enough with the talking. We're almost done. Plus, who knows if the principal will even allow some of the photo's we've taken, right?"

That was true. All photo's had to be hand chosen and approved by the school's principal in order to be published. For some reason, my thoughts were eased as I realized that a lot of the ridiculous pictures I had taken with everyone wouldn't even be published!"

Quietly in the corner, I begin to rock my body back and fourth. Sales for the calendar's had gone on today. They were all sold out before lunch. And almost all of the ridiculous photo's I had taken were in them. The cover the worst of the bunch. The picture of me holding the leashes that connected to the boys was the first thing anyone saw. But, I had to admit that everyone did look ridiculously good. And oddly enough, it wasn't me who stood out the most, it was the invisible Kuroko-kun. Something about the blank look on his face made the girls screaming.

After the cover came **January**, the first picture being an only shot of my beloved coach. She held her whistle up to her lips, with a wink her eyes. She looked very cute, but the intensity in her eyes were something to be feared of.** February**, the month of love was a sweet and adorable picture of the bond shared between Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun. The two of them showing their muscles, but adding to the picture was their happy looks on their faces, even Kuroko-kun. **March** was a self picture of the captain, Hyuuga-senpai. He's seen skilfully shooting a three pointer.** April** is an only shot of the goofy first years, each making a funny face. **May **was the shot of Kagami-kun and myself. The one where I was on his back. The balance I have is horrible and anyone could tell after that I did indeed fall. My cheeks were tinted with red. **June** was the month which had all the girls crying for a copy. The one where all the senpai's were together, shirtless. To me it meant nothing considering they were like family, but the girls were all so happy and couldn't believe the basketball team was this good looking.** July** was a shot of myself and the coach together, holding hands. **August** to **October** were shots of us all in game. **November** was the shot of when I had been laying on my side while each of the senpai's held some part of my body. That was the second most embarrassing pick of me in it! Finally,** December** was a group shot, all of us together outside with scarves all around our necks. This shot was natural. We all did our own thing. Whether it was fighting among ourselves or staring at the camera and smiling. It was a picture of what the Seirin team truly was. And with each month came a little summary at the bottom explaining the picture and what everyone's thought was about the pictures, clearing up any misleading facts.

It was now Thursday after school, the trip with the team would be tomorrow. I had to go out and shop for a few things myself. Today would mark the third day that Satsu-chan had been ignoring me. I didn't mention anything of the calendar and the trip to her yet. I figured I'd just leave a note and leave. The calendar sales 2 days ago had been through the roof. We had received more money than we thought. So we put the remaining money in our basketball funds. Thanks to the calendar, everyone had been getting an onslaught of love letters in their lockers. Including me.

After buying a few things, I begin to make way for home. As I do, I pass by the basketball cage that I usually come to. This time, it's actually being used by a group of high school boys. Walking by casually, I look over and see as they all begin to look at me. D-Did I have something-

"Hey, isn't that the girl who was in Seirin's calendar?"

"Eeeeh?! It is! G'ah, she looks so much better in real life."

"Hey, Kiyone, why don't you go up to her?"

I watch as the group of males push forward a small, thinner boy. He awkwardly walks up to me with the Seirin's calendar in his hands. The cage was the only thing in between us.

"Uhm, would you please sign this for me?" he asks shyly, as he slowly hands me a pen. Staring at the boy, I was more than flattered at his words, his kindness, his adoration for me. So instead, I insist that we take a picture together and we do. Each having a copy on our phones. Waving goodbye to the surprisingly nice group of boys, I realize now that not all the boys who purchased the calendar were what I had thought them to be. They were merely shy guys who had a perfectly normal crush.

Looking down at my phone, I can't help but smile at the picture. Setting it as the wallpaper, I continue to walk without looking. Which proved to always be a bad thing. Accidentally, I bump into something soft, dropping my phone in the process.

"Please for-"

Stopping mid sentence, I look at the two people who I had been dreading to see the most. Satsu-chan and Aomine-kun beside her. I watch as Satsu-chan picks my phone up, while glancing at the picture. The picture of myself and the boy who liked me.

She hands it back, with a solemn look. This probably looked bad. Just days ago the picture she had seen had put the wrong thoughts of me in her head, now this boy who clearly didn't go to Seirin by the looks of his uniform, was posing with me, something else to keep her mind busy.

Taking the phone back, I quickly hide it in my bag.

"I think I like this one better," says Aomine-kun, as he points and shoves something in front of me. Glancing down, it's it's Seirin's calendar!

The picture he was showing me was the one of December. The one where everyone was told to act natural. Out of the bunch, I was the only one looking at the camera, smiling as Kagami-kun had his hand pressed down on my head, using me as some type of leverage to yell at Kuroko-kun some more. In that picture, anyone could tell that I was beyond happy. I was in bliss.

About to open my mouth and say something to Aomine-kun, I watch as a small, thankful smile begins to form on his lips. A smile that was almost relieving in a way.

But what Aomine-kun had thought as me forgiving him by talking to him, I was actually about to call out to Koga and Mitobe-senpai who were farther away from the three of us.

"Mitobe-senpai! Koga-senpai!" I yell, as I brush past Aomine-kun, running to my senpai's. Jumping on Mitobe-senpai, I begin talking to them, like the run in with Satsu-chan and Aomine-kun hadn't happened at all.

"Koga-senpai. Can you turn around and tell me if that tanned guy is looking at us?" I whisper, as I nudge behind him.

He turns around, a blank look on his face. Suddenly, he grabs Mitobe-senpai and myself and begins running.

"W-What's wrong?!"

"He has the look of murder in his eyes!" yells a frightened Koga-senpai, with a determined look to get as far away as possible on his face.

Looks as if the jealousy bug had already made it's mark.


	7. Chapter 7

**READ ME: **I just spent 2 hours proof reading all the chapters again and fixing everything back into a first POV and incorporating the OC's name. Which by the way is **Aisaka Yukari**. I liked the "Yuki" part that the reviewer's had mentioned so decided to keep it. Plus, it's perfect for Kise! He can call her, "Yukicchi". Ah, I love how it fits. Anyways, people want to see a love triangle happen and more interactions dedicated to the hot and awesome bunch of the Generation of Miracles. So this chapter is dedicated to that! Enjoy!

**Chapter 7: Surprise, Surprise**

It was late Friday night when the team and I had decided to stop practicing for today and head to our rooms at the Sakura Resort. Surprisingly, Satsu-chan and I were on speaking terms again. She had told me that Aomine-kun had explained what he had done and said ,"_it's her fault for being so touchable"._ I was redder than a tomato when she had said that, hiding my face deeply into her pillows. Aomine-kun was impossible! When I told her about how all the girls were buzzing about Kuroko-kun, she began to cry into my chest, exclaiming that her boyfriend was cheating on her. I proceeded to take her extra pillow and suffocate her, hoping she'd come back to reality and realize that they weren't dating. When I told her that the team was going off for 3 days to practice, she told me that she wouldn't be home either because she'd be with her team. Oddly enough, both of our schedules worked out!

Now here I was, clinging onto Kagami-kun as he and I were the last two walking behind the group. It was only the first day and coach had driven especially the two of us and Kuroko-kun to our limits. Kuroko-kun the only one not being dead tired though. But something good did come out of it, I had managed to control my ball handling when trying to out run an opponent. Riko-senpai said that after these coming days, my problem of not being able to out run someone while I had the ball would be put to rest. It was more than I could have hoped for.

"Kaga-kun, tell the other's I'll be back in a bit. I want to go outside for some air," I say, as I let go of Kagami-kun's arm.

He nods his head, fighting to catch up with team. He was going to pass out as soon as he got to his room.

Turning back around, I just wanted to phone Satsu-chan and ask how she was doing. Before that, I go to the bathroom and take my wrappings off. Breathing a sigh of relief, it never felt so good. Now exiting the resort, I make way to the outside court, breathing in the cold, refreshing air.

But as I walk out onto the court, there's already people on it. A team was a better way to put it. Kaijou's basketball team.

Stopping in my tracks, I look at all the boys in front of me in shock. And as always, I begin to turn red. They had all finished practicing and were clad in just their basketball my mouth, I try to hold in my ragged gasps. If I walk away quietly now, I'll go unnoticed. Taking a step back, my body bumps into something hard and big. Slowly turning around, I'm afraid as to what it could be.

In the little light there still was in the late afternoon, I see a familiar patch of blonde hair and even more recognizable silver earring.

"Eh? Kitten?" says Kise-kun, as he looks down at my thin, gasping frame.

"K-Kise-kun," I stammer, as I try hard not to stare at his chest. But that was difficult considering that's where my eye level was.

"Kitten!" yells an excited Kise-kun, as he smothers my body into his. Frozen, I feel as his incredibly hot body is slammed into my cooler one. A cold breeze comes by and unconsciously I find myself squeezing my body tighter into Kise-kun's warm one.

"Me too!" yells a voice from behind. Turning around, I watch just in time as Moriyama-kun is brought to the floor by Kasamatsu-kun.

"Idiot's. Both of you. Go take your lady somewhere else. She's clearly cold," says Kaijou's captain, as he goes to throw a ball in the hoop.

My eye cracks at what he just said. About to protest, Kise-kun grabs my arm, dragging me back into the resort.

"What're you doing all alone, kitten?" he asks, as he has me sit down on a chair.

"I'm here with- Hey! Why do you keep calling me that?" I ask, a slight pout to my lips. Did he think I was weak, was that why?

"Eh? Why not? You're as cute as one. Plus, it fits your name. Yu-ki-tten. Would you prefer I call you that?" he asks, as he runs a hand through his blonde, silky locks.

"Well…whatever you like," I say shyly, hiding my face from him. W-Wait, he was still shirtless. Flustered, I immediately get up and begin to take my shirt off, keeping in mind that I was wearing a tank top underneath.

"What're you doing?" he laughs, as I can tell he's watching me.

"Y-You must be cold, I'll give you my shirt," I blurt out through muffled cries, as I struggle to get my t-shirt off. My hands somehow clumsily get caught in the sleeves and before I know it, I lose my footwork and begin falling forward. Thankfully enough, I was caught by the faithful arms of Kise-kun.

As I begin to finally take my shirt off, I thank Kise-kun as I manage pull it off, "Thanks so much Kise-kun…"

I slowly trail off, as I look down at my hand, seeing the contrast between my arm and Kise-kun's arm. But instead, it wasn't his arm holding onto mine. Looking to my left, I notice Kise-kun standing there, with a shocked expression. He wasn't holding my hand. But instead, I look down at my pale complexion against the much tanner one arm, who was holding my hand.

"Did you think I'd let just anyone grab ya' ?" he says, as his grip tightens, showing that he was growing protective.

"A-Aominecchi," says Kise-kun, who's voice came out as small and shocked.

Kise-kun took the words right out of my mouth.

**Authour's Note: What's this? Yukitten, Kise-kun and Aomine-kun all in the same resort for 3 days?! Guess I'm pretty horrible for leaving it here, eh? Hehe, too bad. You'll have to wait a while for the next! Love you all so much. xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**READ ME: **I just realized thanks to a reader that "Yuki" isn't short for "Yukari". I'm not sure how I got that planted in my head that it was. Let's just say it's a nick name. Enjoy the continued chapter. Love you all. xx

**Chapter 7: Surprise, Surprise**

"Did you think I'd let just anyone grab ya' ?" he says, as his grip tightens, showing that he was growing protective.

"A-Aominecchi," says Kise-kun, who's voice came out small and shocked.

Kise-kun took the words right out of my mouth.

"Kise. Seems yer' still the same," says Aomine-kun, as he let's go of my hand.

Averting his gaze, I slowly walk to Kise-kun, standing beside the blonde haired man.

"Here," I mumble, as I hand him the shirt I had just taken off. Looking at me, he begins to laugh loudly, the sound so full of light it seemed he was trying to ease off the tension that had suddenly formed.

"Yukitten, I didn't know you cared about me that much," he jokes, a certain tone to his voice as he suddenly loops his index finger through a strand of my vanilla locks.

I watch mesmerized by his actions, the way his finger skilfully entwines further into my hair, almost growing lost.

"I-I just don't want you catching a-"

"Keep it. The colour black against this skin," he murmurs, as his finger slowly begins to trail in a tantalizing motion down my neck, stopping at my collar bone. "Is something to be in awe of," he finishes, as he flashes me a small, hesitant smile. As if he wanted to say something else. Something that was on his mind.

But as I'm about to ask him what was wrong, his hand is swatted away from me. Aomine-kun steps in front of my body, while physically pushing me back with his other hand.

"Kise, don't tell me you want to lose that hand of yours? Let's face it, how else are ya' gonna copy your opponents?" says Aomine-kun, his voice a little too threatening than playful.

"Aominecchi, don't say hurtful things like that," jokes Kise-kun, as he scratches the back of his head. I watch as that sad smile from before disappears, Kise-kun reverting back to his normal, happy self.

"Kise-kun!" yells a heated voice from behind. Taking a step to the left, I watch as a running Kasamatsu-kun, Kaijou's captain, comes running down the hall with a sour look.

"Ka-"

"Come on. You're wanted by the coach, now."

With that, Kasamatsu-kun runs down the hall with Kise-kun being dragged down with him. In my hands still lay the large shirt I had offered him. Well, at least back in his room he'd wear some proper clothing.

Aomine-kun peers down at the large piece of clothing in my hand. Without hesitation from him, I watch shocked as he begins to take off his own black, sleeveless shirt. He stands in front of me, now shirtless. Here I was, flustered and acting like a middle schooler when I had seen Kise-kun half naked. But looking at Aomine-kun and back at Kise-kun, Aomine-kun was something to be feared of. It seems as though the God's had taken extra care when it came to Aomine-kun's physique.

"Hm? Aren't you gonna offer me the shirt now?" he says, while snatching the black t-shirt from my hands.

I watch much to my dismay as he puts it on, handing me his black shirt in return. He takes a whiff of it, a small smirk making it's way up to his lips.

"Smells just like you. Put mine on," he orders casually, as he watches me with his intense, sea blue eyes. I stare back just as intently with my vanilla ones. He wasn't serious? He might've apologized to Satsu-chan about the whole picture incident but I still needed one as well!

"You're not-"

Oh, he was serious. Taking the shirt from my hands, he orders for me to put my hands up. When I don't, he does it for me, putting his black shirt over me. While he slides the fabric over my head, I can't but shiver as the warmth from his body had travelled along with the shirt, comforting my chilly frame. Afterwards, he looks at me with a content look. Aomine-kun leans down closely to my ear, whispering words that made every inch of my skin burn.

"Kise's right. Black does look good on you, I guess. But I'd much rather see you on my bed without anything on."

With those more than flirtatious words, I watch as he walks away from my frozen form and down the hall. I don't try to stop him. I don't call his name. I don't even tell him what I'm thinking. That I want him to hold me warmly into his body, smother me in his words, kiss me goodnight and good morning. But instead, I stand like a statue, trying desperately to stop the rush of emotions that course rapidly within me. What on earth just happened?

I wake up the next morning, changing into a fresh new pair of clothes. Today was an early morning practice for Seirin. I tried my best to avoid the colour black, but it didn't help considering the only coloured shorts I brought with me were that colour. Digging through my bag, I pull out an old, red sweatshirt that had my eldest brother's basketball team's name on it. Brushing my tangled, wavy hair, I tie it up in it's usual pony tail. But as I stare into my reflection, all I can picture is Kise-kun running his soft, warm hands through it. Something I didn't want to be thinking about. I begin to tidy the room Riko-senpai and I were sharing until I made my way to the court for today's practice. Picking up an unfamiliar shirt from the ground, I realize it's the one I had shamefully fallen asleep in. Aomine-kun's shirt. Much to my dismay, I can't help but fold it neatly and safely, making sure I didn't cause a tear. But as I turn it over on it's back, my face immediately begins to burn.

On the back of the shirt had a big, red number 5 printed neatly in the middle. Seeing that, I wouldn't have made anything of it until I read what was underneath it. "_I __© AOMINE DAIKI."_

I-I had been strutting around the resort wearing that on my back all last night. No wonder some of the other resident's had been giving me strange looks. They probably thought I was some type of crazy fan-girl!

Hiding the shirt deeply under a pile of clothes, I lock the door and gloomily walk to the basketball courts, thinking of Aomine-kun. Now he had two things to apologize for.

Opening the exiting door, I find myself arriving in the middle of an argument. See, the resort only had 2 basketball courts. But there was 3 basketball teams staying here. It seems that Touou was the first team to arrive, so they automatically had right over one court, leaving the other left. Right now, Riko-senpai and Kaijou's coach were in a middle of an argument about who should rule over the last remaining one.

Walking over to Kuroko-kun, I begin to brush my hand gently through his hair. Combing it out.

"Your bed head," I mumble, as I try to tame his incredibly weird hair. How did Kuroko-kun manage it himself?

"Yuki-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Why were you wearing a shirt yesterday that said '_**I love Ao**_-"

Covering Kuroko-kun's mouth, I grab his arm and drag him to the corner of the courts, away from everyone else.

"You saw that?!" I whisper unhappily, as I scratch my ear in discomfort. If Kuroko-kun saw, then that means the whole team must've seen!

"Don't worry. I was the only one who saw it," he says, putting my suspicions to rest.

"Kuro-kun, I don't know what to tell you. It all-"

"That's fine. It was my idea after all," he says casually, as he begins to walk away from me.

"Wait, wait, wait," I say, a small laugh to my words. I grab his arm, pulling him back in front of me.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Aomine-kun had said that since I'm always with you, he wanted to know what you liked. So I told him that out of school I see you wearing shirts wear you state that you love-"

"Wait. Are you talking about that **one time **when I wore my, "_I love New York" _t-shirt?" I ask incredulously, as I recall that time Satsu-chan and I had bumped into Kuroko-kun and Kagami-kun at the burger joint. I only owned that shirt because when I went to visit my brother in New York, he had bought me one to wear when I was in Japan in case I ever missed him.

But that was only that one and only time.

"Yes. So I told Aomine-kun to make a similar shirt and give it to you. Why, did you not like it?" he asks, his voice stained with a little hurt because it was his fabulous idea.

Burying my face in my hands, I talk to myself through a muffled voice.

"Why can't boys be normal and give me chocolate?"

"That's what I told Aomine-kun. But he told me that he thought that it looked like you had already had enough," says Kuroko-kun, as he begins to once again walk away back to the team.

Shooting up, a blank expression overcomes my face. He thought I was fat. Well, let's just add that to the list of apologies. Walking back to the team with a slight frown, It seems as though a final conclusion hadn't been reached.

"Why don't we each use half court?" says Kagami-kun, an impatient look on his face as he spins the ball expertly on his finger.

Riko-senpai and Kaijou's coach give each other a look before they agree to Kagami-kun's solution.

"Smartest thing you've said all week," says Hyuuga-senpai, as he pats him on the back.

Kagami-kun shoots him a look before running off to our side of the court. Well, it seems as though practicing would be hard for today. I could tell that neither teams here were willing to show off their new skills, saving them for the Inter-High preliminaries. It was odd, Seirin was on one end while Kaijou on the other. And then beside us there was already a practicing team of Touou. From here, I watch Satsu-chan intently watch the players, analyzing and critiquing everyone's movements.

"All right, with the limited space we have, let's all warm up with some stretching and then shooting," says Riko-senpai, as she sits down on the nearby bench.

I begin stretching, minding my own business when a ball rolls towards the back of my legs. Picking it up, I look around to see where it came from. Across the court came running an over exuberant Kise-kun.

"Yukitten!" he yells out, as he calls my overly embarrassing nickname. I watch shyly as everyone on the court looks at me with a strange look. I could even tell that Touou was looking over as well. What kind of nickname was it after all?

"Don't yell it out," I mumble quietly, as I slam the ball up against his chest.

"Ah, is my Yukitten in a bad mood today?" he says, as he begins to laugh and pinch my cheeks. It reminded me of our first encounter where he had done the same thing.

I feel bad for not warning Kise-kun as I watch Kasamtasu-kun kick him back towards their side. Well, that was one way of sending him back.

Right now, I was proving myself to everyone that I was quite useless. Everyone time I had went in for a shot from the 3 point line like usual, I missed. Every time for the past hour. I heard a few guys from the neighbouring teams snicker whenever I did. Today was not my day.

Grabbing the hard pass by Furihata-kun, I dribble the ball through my legs, looking for an escape route. I was finally able to run full speed with possession of the ball. Well, subtracting the few mishaps where I lost control though.

Glancing around, I notice that no one's open, forcing me to score myself. I could score at the 3 point line, but Kagami-kun up ahead would easily deflect it unless I found a distraction. So that left me no choice but to bob and weave my way to the hoop, going in for a lay up. Continuing to dribble the ball, I jump and dodge the swatting hands and bodies coming into my way. I come to a dead end when Kagami-kun towers over me, with his partner in crime Kuroko-kun behind me. I could get past anyone. Anyone but these two.

I try to dribble past Kagami-kun, but his long hands threaten to smother my body. My only chance was to shoot from here, but he'd deflect it. Unless I bounced it behind- no, Kuroko-kun would quickly misdirect it. Gritting my teeth, I look around quickly to see if anyone's open. They're all struggling against each other. There was one way I could get back to the 3 point line and try my luck there. But I'd only done this technique once in middle school when I was trying to get my lucky ball away from these guys trying to take it from me. Well, anything in basketball was worth a shot. Dribbling the ball a couple of times, I jump up, faking a shot. Immediately Kagami-kun jumps up as well, ready to deflect it. But instead, I shoot up wards, trying my best to flick my wrist at the appropriate angle. For a second, I panic because I don't remember if I was supposed to flick my wrist to the back left or back right. I chose the back left. Luckily for me, I was right. The basketball flies high in the air, making an arch as it begins to fly back. As soon as my feet touch the ground, I race to the 3 point line, grabbing it as it bounces once on the ground. Without hesitation I position myself for a 3 pointer, praying it goes in. And it does. For the first time today. Closing my eyes, I breathe a sigh of relief as Riko-senpai blows her whistle after a few seconds.

I was really worried for a second. What if I had done the technique wrong and it hit someone on Kaijou's team? That's why I rarely used it. One needed to have the proper focus and technique in order to have it land wherever they wanted to on the court. Suddenly, I notice the dead silence around me. Cracking an eye open, I notice that everyone of Seirin watches me with astonished eyes. Looking beside us to the next court over, I stand up properly as Touou's team even stopped to stare at me.

In that moment, I felt so-

"Waah, that was amazing," says Kise-kun, as he covers my eyes from behind. Blinded, he holds my body into his chest. I don't do anything to break free. I understood what he was doing. He knew how I must have been feeling scrutinized, so he covered my eyes, hiding everyone's looks. I couldn't had thanked him enough.

"That's enough for now. You guys can head in for today," says Riko-senpai, as she calls the practice to an end. Strangely enough, the other two teams call an end to their practices as well. Seems as though they were waiting for the other to go before calling their own games off.

Kise-kun slowly uncovers my eyes, but he still towers behind me.

My team mates all tell me that they'll be expecting me in the room, their voices all a bit apologetic. I assumed it was because of the strange looks from earlier. I couldn't blame them. Twisting the ball to land in that motion shouldn't had been possible.

Kuroko-kun is the last to walk by me, but Kise-kun stops him.

"Kurokocchi, how about you and I hang out and go-"

"Sorry, Kise-kun. But Kagami-kun and I are heading to the indoor gym."

Kuroko-kun walks away, catching up to Kagami-kun. Kise-kun runs his hand through his hair in dejection.

"My, my. Getting rejected like that hurts."

Kneeling down to tie my shoe laces, I look to my side and find Kise-kun doing the same. Although his didn't need any lacing up.

"Say, how about you and I hang out?" he says, as a large smile overcomes his face. I quickly glance at him, but that proves to be a mistake. Looking into his gleaming eyes that had just been rejected by Kuroko-kun, I shake my head in disbelief.

"Fine," I mumble, as I stand back up. He does the same, as he shyly rubs the back of his head.

"Great, let's meet here in an hour. We can take a walk to the nearby town."

"That sounds-"

"I'll come too," interjects a chilling, familiar voice. Not bothering to look up, I already knew it was Aomine-kun.

"Not a-"

"Aominecchi? When did you get here?" asks an oblivious Kise-kun.

"What do you mean? You saw me standing behind Yukari?" he mutters irritated, as he digs his hands into his pockets. I shoot Kise-kun a look, but he quickly looks away.

"Alright, I guess you can come. But bring your own money. I'm not paying for you," he says, as he begins to walk away, leaving Aomine-kun and I on the court.

"Are you going to apologize?" I ask, as I look up at him with an unhappy look.

"For what?"

"The photo? The shirt? What else am I missing? Oh, how about when you told Kuro-kun that I didn't need anymore chocolate?" I list, as I cross my arms defiantly over my bust. Giving him a hard look, I force him to apologize.

"Sorry. But I only know one way of apologizing," he mutters, as he kicks the air in front of him.

"And what's that?"

Aomine-kun gives me a blank look, before it slowly turns into a warning smirk. Now I wish I hadn't asked. Taking a cautious step back, he grabs a hold of my red sweatshirt, pulling my body closer to his. Trying to struggle free, he continues to reel me in like a catch.

Suddenly, I watch as he begins to lean in, his lips spiralling closer towards mine. Nervously I stand frozen, unsure of how to respond. As he draws closer and closer, I close my eyes in anticipation. He was so close. It was going to happen. But suddenly he stops, whispering into my ear.

"Baka. As if I'm in the wrong. I never apologize for anything unless someone _forces_ me too," he says, his voice heavy with lust, as he grabs my hand, placing it underneath his shirt. I wince as to how hard and toned his abdomen felt.

"So, go ahead and force me," he mumbles, as he intentionally breathes his warm breath into the nape of my neck.

Without hesitation I push him away, giving myself some air. Gasping, I hold the side of my neck, looking up at him through nervous eyes.

I want to yell at him. Hit him. Tell him how he's such an idiot and shouldn't be doing weird things like that to a girl.

"**AHOMINE!" I yell out, like an immature child before I stomp away back to my room. I had to get dressed considering I had just agreed to hang out with the two guys who had been causing me quite a bit of stress.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8: The Truth Comes Out**

I sit on an old park bench squished in between Kise-kun and Aomine-kun. After having a shower I got ready, slipping into an olive coloured dress. I had to borrow it from Satsu-chan considering I hadn't brought any casual clothes with me. For once, I decided to let my vanilla locks down, running like a waterfall down my back. But I wasn't sure if you could count it since I had braided it loosely.

Now here I was, sitting beside a stunning Aomine-kun who was dressed in casual black jeans, a loose, sleeveless tank on top with matching converses. And then there was the opposite of that, Kise-kun. He wore black, almost dress type shoes to go with his beige, fitted slacks. His shirt was a neatly ironed, a soft, calming blue. A few of the buttons on it were undone. Revealing his toned physique underneath. He dressed just like a model.

It was awkward being with the two at the same time. If I talked to Kise-kun, Aomine-kun would be fighting for my attention and vice versa. If I wasn't talking to either of them, they wouldn't talk to each other. It was all a big competition and I was in the middle of it. Literally.

"How's your modelling going, Kise-kun?" I ask, as I turn to talk to him. I hadn't known that he was one until Satsu-chan had pointed it out before I left the resort.

"It's-"

"Y'know, I got offered a contract at his agency. But I turned-"

Shooting a dangerous look to Aomine-kun, I narrow my soft, crème coloured eyes at him hoping he got my message. The least that I wanted was for the other to finish their sentences without being interrupted.

Suddenly, I feel something warm and soft nudge the back of my legs. Jumping, I accidentally kick whatever it was that was there. Peering down at my feet, I cover my mouth in shock.

"Eh? What's-"

"Waaaaaah, look at it," I cry out in awe, as I pick up the black, fuzzy cat, cradling it into my arms. I try to coax it to sleep on my lap. Looking to my right, I notice Aomine-kun has a disgusted look on his face. His body had also grown quite tense with annoyance.

"What's-"

"Cat's are horrible," he mutters, as he shoots the helpless kitty a murderous look. In return, the cat begins to cry out.

"Aominecchi, don't say stuff like that," says Kise-kun, as I watch him gently take the little mess of fur into his hands, holding it up to his chest. He gently snuggles the little cat, as it relaxes into his warm, comforting touch.

Flushing red, it was so refreshing to see someone like Kise-kun all for love when it came to a stray, filthy cat. I squish closer to him, wanting to play with the kitty too.

"It's true. They're useless. All they do is act like they can do stuff but when it comes to playing around with them they're shi-"

Elbowing him in the side, I shut up his pointless explanation. Cats weren't like that at all. They just needed a motivation and the right person to be able to play and show affection too. Suddenly, the cat jumps out of Kise-kun's arms, scampering across my thighs. We both watch as the cat jumps on Aomine-kun, scratching the side of his face before running away.

Rolling my eyes, I grab Aomine-kun's arm and tell Kise-kun to stay where he was. That was karma for you.

Stopping at the water fountain nearby, I dab my sleeve into the cold pool of water and gently begin to wipe away the little bit of blood from his cheek. I grab his chin, pulling his face down to my level. "You'll need it disinfected when we get back if you don't want an affection," I murmur, as I concentrate my focus on wiping the blood from his face. I fail to notice the proximity between us and the red tint to Aomine-kun's face.

"Yu…Yukar-"

"Neh, I feel so left out!" buts in Kise-kun, as he pushes Aomine-kun out of the way. These two were seriously impossible.

"So, tell me honestly. How do you think I'll do in the preliminaries?" I ask happily, as the three of us begin to walk around the small town by the resort. I try to ignore the feeling of Kise-kun's hand bumping into mine.

Both Aomine-kun and Kise-kun remain quiet, their paces slowing down a little.

"W-what's wrong? Don't tell me you guys are worried about me? I'll do fine if I have everyone of Sei-"

"Yer' relying too much on them," says Aomine-kun, his voice blunt and confident.

Looking up at him, a nervous smile overcomes my plump lips. I push my hair back, confused at his words.

"You're not seri-"

"Aominecchi is right. It's true that you've got _some_ skills, but seeing you play today, you rely on the plays of your team mates than making your own. It's on your face whenever you're given the ball. _Hesitance," _finishes a cautious Kise-kun, as he searches for the right use of words.

I stop in my tracks, looking at the both of them in utter shock, "So what, you don't think Seirin will win?"

"I-It's not Seirin we're concerned about, Yukitten. It's you."

I give Kise-kun a wide eyed look, his words causing a slash inside of me. He might as well have said that I sucked. Yes, I understood that my lay ups and dunks lacked quite a bit, but I was good at everything else. I could run faster than anyone for crying out loud! But…but then again, anyone could run. Anyone could use distraction. Anyone could day anything I could.

In all actuality, I was just an extra body on the court. I served no purpose on it. Nothing but a pretty face to watch.

"Yukari, don't give us that look," mutters Aomine-kun in annoyance, as he notices the solemn look on my face. How could I not when they basically slapped me in my face and told me I couldn't play ball? I slap Aomine-kun's hand away from me, pushing him back as well. I didn't need him to console me. I didn't need anything from these two. I was fine on my own!

"N-No! I've played against both of you and won. I-"

"Winning isn't the point, Yuki-"

I can't help but let my emotions get to the best of me in that moment. Crumpling up my face, the tears begin to spill down my cheek, dropping at my chin. I run away from them both as fast as I could without turning back. I couldn't cry in front of them. They already thought I was weak.

But, I did ask for the truth so it was partially my fault for my current condition. But that's because I had thought they'd have a little more faith in me. Seirin. My style of basketball. What did it all mean now that two of the best players I knew just bashed it?

Slowing down my pace considerably, I roughly wipe my tears away pulling out my phone. I call Satsu-chan.

"Yuki-chan! How's the- wait, are you crying?"

"N-No. I'm fine, really. I'm just a little upset. That's all," I say truthfully, as I rub my nose in irritancy.

"What- Please tell me they didn't do anything weird?"

"No! It's just…Satsu-chan?"

"What is it?"

"Do you think I rely too much on Seirin when it comes to playing?" I ask, as I come to a stop, wondering, no, knowing what she'd say. Of course I didn't rely on Seirin. How could I rely on others this whole time when I brought myself to the Championship League? To all my other games, tournaments, etc. It was because I trained hard to get to where I was. And it seemed Satsu-chan was the only one who understood.

"I…I don't think you rely on them."

"Thank-"

"But I do think you haven't been trying as much," she says, her voice a little cautious.

"What do you mean?"

"Look at yourself, Yuki-chan. You told me the reason why you came to Japan was so you could find some clarity and focus everything you had in perfecting your weaknesses in basketball. Now tell me, after almost 2 weeks, what have you accomplished?"

"I-I…I've managed to run with the ball now!" I blurt out, my voice course and persuasive.

"But what about the other things? Nothing, right? I hate to say it, Yuki-chan. But you haven't done a single noticeable thing to prove to the teams here as to what you are. I mean, your whole team is here practicing and you're-"

"No there not. Riko-senpai told me they were all heading out."

"Well she must've lied because they're all in the gym still practicing. I think she said that because she wanted you to go-"

"So what, I'm a little girl who needs to be given breaks to go out? I need to be pitied?" I yell, my voice beginning to crumble.

"…yes."

Shaking, I try to keep the phone steady in my hand, but I can't. It was too hard. Snapping it shut, I clench it tightly in my fist as I crouch down, crying at my own shame and guilt. Who was I

Why, why was I so pathetic? Here I was, talking all this talk from day 1 on how everyone would have a reason to be in fear. But what now, the preliminaries were in two days and I was still as shameful as I was, or even more than I was when I first came here. Satsu-chan was right. I'd been slacking off because Aomine-kun was the first boy to ever recognize me as a strong player, yet still liked me as a woman. That's why I was so drawn to him.

Yet here I was, alone. Helpless. Nothing special. I was a no one.

But I could make myself _someone. _Standing up, I wipe the tears off my face with my sleeve. I feel the vibration of my phone tingle up to my elbow. I had two days. Two days to work on my weaknesses and make them into strengths. In those two days, I'd swallow up my child side and finally play like a woman.

Frustrated, I throw the ball at the backboard as I squeeze my eyes closed. Why did I keep missing?! Running, I grab the ball and dribble it back to the other side of the court. A couple of times through my legs and in I go, trying to shoot for the first time behind the 3 point line. It spins quickly around the rim before falling off to the side. But before it hit's the ground, I watch as Kagami-kun grabs it in his hands.

"Kaga-"

"I could hear your anger from inside," he mutters, as he effortlessly throws the ball in.

"How?" I ask, as I stare at him intently. How had he mastered the sport in all almost everywhere?

"How what?"

"Never mind. It's all the practicing you do. That's why you always get it," I mutter, as I catch his hard pass. Dribbling the ball, I try to shoot from where I am but as always, the ball doesn't go in.

"Yeah, for me. What about you? You don't even have to practice like the rest of us and you'll always get it in."

I look at him with a confused look, crossing my arms over my chest. "Where were you this morning? The past practices? I haven't been able to get anything in!"

Kagami-kun dribbles the ball before he jumps up, almost flying up towards the sky. He slams the ball in, catching it before it hits.

"That's because you don't want it to."

"That's worse than what Kise-"

"You haven't noticed it yourself but everyone on Seirin has. You have the power of will."

"I don't-"

"If you _want _the ball to go in, it'll go in. If you want it that badly, it'll happen Yuki. That's why during practices you can't get anything in because it's practice. It doesn't matter. But in a game, it does. That's why you always get the ball. Think about it," he finishes as he walks towards me, his large frame casting a shadow.

What was Kagami-kun saying? That if I really wanted to do a good lay up, I could? He was so wrong! I've wanted to jump as high the boys since years ago. I've never been able to do it!

"Here. Let's make a bet. If you can get the ball in from that end of the court, to there," he pauses, as he points at the basket, "then I'll give you all my sports magazines."

Taking a step forward, I grab his shirt like a shy child. "E-Even this months limited edition '_International Idols'_ ," I gleam, my voice desperate and shaky.

He gently pushes me back, obviously not liking the close proximity. "Yeah. But, if you can only get it in. If you don't, you'll have to give me all your issues."

Greedily taking the ball from him quickly, I race down the court. The only sound you could hear were my urgent, hard footsteps. As I position myself to make the throw, I suddenly stop to stare at the orange ball in my hands. Was Kagami-kun right? If I wanted the desire badly enough, I could make anything possible then? Stowing my doubts in the back of my mind, I concentrate on my body. Feet shoulder width apart. Elbows in and straight. Wrists loose, but not too loose. Back straight and tall. The only thing left was the flick and jump. This was it. If I could get it in, all the issues of basketball magazines Kagami-kun had were mine. They'd be _mine._ Breathing a deep breath, I clear my mind before I jump, remembering what I'd be giving in return. I knew that I didn't want anyone else's hands on my possessions. Jumping as high as I could, I use all my strength and channel it into my wrist, flicking the ball high and hard. Touching the ground, I watch in astonishment as the ball travels in a high, almost calm, soothing arch before gracefully landing in the basket.

I stare at Kagami-kun, my mouth wide open. N-No, he couldn't be right. It must've been a lucky-

"Try again. But instead, you won't get anything in return."

He throws me the ball from the other side, giving me a smirk. Trying to do another shot, I redo the mental checklist before I let go. The ball barely touches the rim and falls to the ground.

"Now. If you get it in, I'll delete the embarrassing photo we took of you when you fell asleep on the couch. Your legs were wrapped around Kuroko if that helps," he laughs, as he recalls this embarrassing photo. I knew for a fact he wasn't lying because I had past pictures to prove it on other occasions.

Grabbing the ball, I put my heart into the throw and watch as it successfully goes in. Standing on the other side of the court by myself, my mind couldn't comprehend it. All this time I thought I was a bump in the road when I came to Seirin to play with them. But all along it was just what I wanted. But the thing that made me uneasy was as to why when all those times I practiced abroad, I was outstanding. Did it have to do with that time when I first stepped onto Seirin's gym? The fact that I didn't get any feeling from it?

"Now that you know, you can take that scowl off your face. The boys would find you more attractive if you smiled more often," he says, as he recounts that very time when I had told him the same thing.

Running to Kagami-kun, I hug his large arm ignoring the fact that he was trying to shoot.

"Idi-"

"Thank you, Kagami-kun," I whisper, as I hold onto the Ace of Seirin high.

"Am I interrupting?" asks a cool, quiet voice from behind. Turning around, Kuroko-kun stands with a ball in his hand and a blank expression.

"No. In fact, you came just in time. It's about time the three of us came up with some new strategies. We all vowed to beat the Generation of Miracles, right? So let's do it."

Patting the two on the back, we spend the rest of the day and later that night yelling, practicing, fighting and laughing together. And thanks to Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun, they made me realize my strengths and help me conquer my weaknesses. The people at the Inter-High preliminaries were in for quite the show.

"About time you three came in. We were going to leave for dinner without you guys," says Hyuuga-senpai, as he and the coach were just about to leave the room.

Apologizing, we all take baths cleaning ourselves up from the new found power each of us had. We were ready all right.

Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun and myself walk down the hall, talking about Kuroko-kun's new technique.

"But what if you hit someone?" I ask, as we make a left and continue to descend towards the smell of a freshly cooked meal.

"It's simple. Blame Kagami-kun."

"Like that's gonna work!" yells an irritated Kagami-kun, as he repositions his black shirt. I didn't blame him. We all had to run to get ready for dinner.

"It might actually. Kuroko-kun is invisible after all. The blame could easily be put on you," I muse out loud, as I poke my cheek in thought.

"Don't say things like that!" shouts Kagami-kun, as the look of panic over comes his face. He begins to yell at Kuroko-kun, telling him that if he did something stupid like that, he'd put his basketball days to an end.

"About time!" yells Riko-senpai up ahead, as she stands with the Seirin team.

"You're lucky there's plenty of food left!"

Walking towards the group, we all greet each other talking about what the three of us had been doing. We quickly change the subject, wanting it all to be a surprise at the Inter-High.

"H-Hyuuga-senpai, can I talk to you for a minute?" I ask quietly, as we're all about to head into our rooms. Hyuuga-senpai looks at me for a moment before agreeing. Looking over his shoulders, I see the other senpai's all staying behind as well.

"She meant-"

"N-No, I'd like to talk to my other anis (_elder brothers) _as well."

The rest of the team heads inside, not questioning the little talk we were about have. Waiting for the door to close, I then begin my apology.

"Lately I've been having…doubts. Mostly about myself. But I never brought them out because I thought that I had all these people around me believing in me. Turns out they were thinking the same things I had been shoving away. I spent majority of the day with Kaga-kun and Kuro-kun. They helped me bring everything out and I guess what I'm trying to say is that…in the next three days, I'll put out all the same things I had been feeling for myself in your heads' away. I'll prove to you all that I can play basketball. That I can help Seirin win. And-"

Hyuuga-senpai suddenly hits me on the head, very gently and almost child like.

"I'm glad you told us. We were getting a little worried you wouldn't talk to anyone about it."

"You could-"

"Tell? Of course. We are family after all?" he says, his voice light and airy. So calm and soothing.

"And we all know Hyuuga's the mother!" laughs Izuki-senpai, slapping him on the back. Hyuuga-senpai slowly turns around to pull on Izuki-senpai's hair. "And what are you? The red headed step child!?"

I watch the group in amusement, feeling a weight lifted off of my soldiers. This was it. If I lost myself in the preliminaries my excuse couldn't be "_I didn't have anyone to talk to" _because I did. I talked to these guys just now. _I_ won't have an excuse for Seirin's loss because it'll never happen. We'll win. I was sure of it.

"I'm so glad to be going home!" cheers an over happy Koga-senpai, as we all begin to walk for the train station.

"And I can't wait to get my hands on your collection," I chant just as happily, as I jump onto Kagami-kun's back.

He mumbles something to himself, probably wondering why he had bet on something so meaningful like that.

I'm suddenly reminded of Aomine-kun, Kise-kun and Satsu-chan. After running away from them, I hadn't apologized to anyone for my rude behaviour. After all, they were just telling me things that ended up being beneficial for myself. I'd apologize to Satsu-chan as soon as I got home, but the boys were a different story. I had to find a way to meet them individually before Tuesday. If it came down to us facing off during the preliminaries, I didn't want an argument standing in front of us both.

It was Monday after school now, the Inter-High preliminaries were tomorrow. A rush of emotions were splurging inside of me. One being apologetic. So here I was standing in front of Kaijou, waiting for Kise-kun to come out. I watch him exit the school, with that forever friendly smile on his handsome face.

"Yukitten!" he yells, as he ruffles up my hair causing a large nest to form on my head.

"Kise-kun. I want to-"

"Yes, yes. It's fine. Come on, let's go-"

Kise-kun grabs my hand, beginning to drag me away while brushing my apology aside. But I needed to say I was sorry.

"I'm sorry. Really. You and Aomine-kun were just telling me the truth and like a helpless child I ran away."

Kise-kun stops, my hand still in his. "You've always wondered why I call you by that name, right?"

I nod my head in agreement, giving him a slightly confused look.

"It's because at times you're so weak, innocent and adorable like a newborn kitten. But then at other times you get that passion to play, to win, to fight. But yet you still hold onto the innocence of your personality, making you even more soft and kind as you grow," he says, as his voice turns into a hush whisper, murmuring his words into my hair. Kise-kun gently lifts up my chin, staring into my vanilla irises as I look into his. I crack a smile, gently pushing him away.

"Don't. It'll only make beating you in the preliminaries harder," I joke, as I poke him in the chest. He laughs in response, pulling my body into his. "I'll be rooting for you, Yukitten," Kise-kun says, his voice a gentle whisper.

One down, another to go.

Walking to Touou, I bump into Satsu-chan who was on her way home. I had already apologized to her when I got home from the train station that day.

"Aomine-kun? He didn't show up for practice."

"What about school?"

She gives me a side long glance before sighing out. "He did that. I tried to talk to him but he seemed more annoyed than usual. He won't answer my texts so I don't know where he is."

Luckily for me, I had a pretty good idea as to where he might be.

Telling Satsu-chan I'd see her at home, I run to the basketball cage that had become a frequent place to practice for both him and I. Surely enough, there he was. Still dressed in his uniform, shooting the ball by himself. Walking into the cage I set my bag down, slowly creeping up behind him.

"A-Aomine-kun?" I ask quietly, as I cross my hands behind my back, looking up at him shyly. I was so nervous. What if he forced me to apologize by doing something…weird?

He doesn't say anything. His back is still turned against me as he continues to shoot the ball in.

"I'm sorry-"

"Are you now?" he says, his voice careless and cold.

Giving him a confused look, I ask him what was wrong.

"I didn't say anything to you that day. Kise was the one pointing everything out yet he's the first one to get an apology?" he says unhappily, as he slams the ball towards the backboard of the hoop. It goes in, surprisingly enough.

"I'm sorry! You're right. Kise-kun did say a lot more things than you did but apologizing to whomever first shouldn't matter because I'm still-"

"Fine. Yer' sorry. Let's leave it at that. You draggin' it on right now is really annoying me," he says, the tone of his voice relaxed and icy. The worst two to be put together. By his lack of concern of my apology it showed me that he didn't care at all about what I had to say. And the coldness to it meant that he was furious inside.

"Y-You don't have to talk like I don't exist," I joke out nervously, as I rub the side of my arm in sadness.

"That's right. Yer' a nobody. On and off the court. Leave me alone," he mutters lazily, as he hands me back my lucky ball.

With that, I stand frozen as my chest begins to hurt, my head begins to pound. I've had worse things said to me, but hearing words like that from someone you really cared about couldn't compare. I suppose I did deserve the anger, considering that Aomine-kun hadn't said much during the time. In fact, I slapped his hand away when he was trying to comfort me. Kise-kun was the one who had broken me down the most. Yet he was the first to get an apology. I really was the worst.

"Y-You're right…haha…I really am nobody…special," I laugh out, as I squeeze my arm tightly, trying not to cry. I hear Aomine-kun's footsteps behind me stop, a silence filling the gap between us. Turning around, I continue to squeeze my arm as I pick my bag up the floor.

Before I leave, I wait by the entrance of the cage thinking Aomine-kun will stop me. Tell me he didn't mean it. Tell me everything I wanted to hear. Hold me tightly to his body like he did whenever we met. Kise-kun was my friend. The warmth and love from his body wouldn't ever compare to Aomine-kuns'. I just wish I had told him that before he told me he didn't want anything to do with me.

But Aomine-kun doesn't stop me because that part of him wasn't in his nature. He wasn't like Kise-kun who was so happy and could easily express his emotions. Aomine-kun liked to keep to himself and proved to be quite lazy. But I found glimpses and moments of him opening himself up. Satsu-chan told me that he used to be so happy and such a good friend to everyone back in the day. And I saw that in Aomine-kun when he was with me. But it seems I'll never get to see it again.

Waking up the next morning I walk down the hall of Satsu-chan's house, walking into her room. Sliding underneath her covers, I lay beside her sleeping form while staring up at the ceiling. Today was the start of the Inter-High preliminaries. The start of a new me. No longer would I cry, give up or walk away. I'd take everything that was handed to me graciously and move on towards a brighter path. Whether that be alone or with Aomine-kun.

"Yuki-chan?" murmurs a dazed Satsu-chan.

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"…yeah."

That was the truth. Although it did pain me to say it, I had no right to be upset over something, or someone I never had.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9: Seiho vs. Seirin**

"…and we'll start off with formation 1. So that'll be Kuroko-kun, Kagami-kun, Hyuuga-kun, Izuki-kun and Mitobe-kun. Remember to try and conserve some energy. We're up against Shutoko after this when we win," says Riko-senpai, as she finishes drawing out the game plan. "And as Kuroko-kun mentioned, it'll be even more difficult considering they have one of the Generation of Miracles playing for them."

It was around 10 in the morning at our first game at the preliminaries. We all came with high spirits and hopes that'd we win. But when we found out we'd be playing against two of the three kings back to back, Seirin's fighting spirit began to deteriorate.

Changing out from my track suit, this time I no longer cared who watched me. I was here for Seirin and myself. Not them.

As I reposition and tighten my pony tail, I begin my stretches away from the team while giving myself a little pep talk.

I didn't come here to prance around and sit on the bench the whole time. I came to finally prove myself and help the team. I needed to focus the attention on Seirin while bringing out my potential. It was just like what Kagami-kun had said, "_If you want it, you__'__ll get it.__"_

That's all I needed to know in order to go into this game with everything I had.

Taking a seat on the bench, I watch as formation 1 makes their way onto the court. The game was about to begin and here I was on the bench. I really wished I had been starting but asking Riko-senpai to put me in right now just showed how little faith I had in my team.

Still sitting on the bench, I watch as the first quarter draws to an end. It was difficult, the way the game was going it could be anyone's. No one was willing to give up a point unless getting one in return. As Kagami-kun and Kuroko-kun take a seat beside me on the bench, I hand them each a towel and bottles of water.

"I thought she was supposed to be playing for Seirin. Or is her job only to wipe them down and give them a bottle!"

I watch with vacant eyes as two boys walk by our bench, giving me unpleasant looks while they do so.

"Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun. I want you two sitting out for the sec-"

"That's-"

Riko-senpai shuts up Kagami-kun's protest with a slap on the head. "You two are tired and we need you both for Shutoko. Plus, you guys haven't really seen your senpais' true strength. Koga-kun and Yuki-chan, I want you two subbing in."

Koga-senpai and I nod our heads in agreement as we listen to the coach's other observations about Seiho.

In a few minutes, the referee blows his whistle signalling the start of the second quarter. My check is their number 7 player. He kindly asks me what my name is.

"Aisaka Yukari," I say politely, as I flash him a kind smile. For once, a polite, nice opponent.

"Kenjiro Sakamoto. It's a pleasure-"

The whistle blows and the ball is thrown, Seiho getting possession of it first. I watch stunned as it's passed to Sakamoto-kun.

"Too slow," he whispers, before he flashes me a smile. He flies past me, causing my hair behind to whirl around my face. Standing there shocked, it was the first time ever that I had been fooled by own move. Hyuuga-senpai and the others run past me, yelling at me to get on him. It's the passion in his words that bring me back from the sudden shock. Quickly glancing to the bench of Seiho, a few of them are laughing at my misfortune. No way could I be out fooled by myself.

Being the last remaining one in the middle of the court, I turn around and begin to book it down the end of the court. I catch up to #7 with ease, sliding in front of him. Stopping in my tracks, he's too overcome with surprise to stop himself. I brace myself as his body comes ramming into my smaller frame, causing me to tumble to the ground in a heap.

The referee blows the whistle, the game coming to a stop. "Charging, #7. One free throw for #1 of Seirin!"

Standing back up with the help of Hyuuga-senpai, he pats me on the back with a smile.

Drawing fouls was one of my specialties after all.

Grabbing the ball from #7, I flash him a smile as he had done so from before. Walking with everyone else to our side of the court, I stand in the middle of the free throw line concentrating on getting the ball into the basket. Shooting, I can't help but smile when it goes in. So this is what Kaagami-kun meant.

Jumping into action, the play begins as soon as the ball goes in, Seiho managing to grab their hands on it. I find myself struggling to move my eyes quick enough to watch where the ball is heading to next. It'd been a long time since I played with a team who was this quick in their defense.

After watching their quick movements, I think I've figured out how their pattern works. But I realize it's too late when the captain of their team slams the ball in. A time out is called on their side before continuing the second period. Running to the bench of Seirin, I kindly refuse the bottle of water from Furihata-kun.

"I've figured it out."

"What out?" asks Riko-senpai, her voice calm, yet slightly tense.

"The way they move. It's not like a normal basketball teams'. They're using old martial art techniques to help them win this game. Specifically for the way they run. I've seen it before back when I used to watch my brothers' games when they were in high school. I think it's called Nanba running. They keep their arms close to their sides and only follow the movements with the timing of their legs. They conserve energy but can still run incredibly fast," I say quickly, as I use myself as a demonstration to show them what I meant.

Riko-senpai remains quiet before a smile slowly creeps on her face. "But they're still high school students. So they can still fall for our little tricks. Yuki-chan, how many more fouls do you think you can draw?"

"Depends. They know now I'm fast so they'll be cautious. I can draw maybe two more in this quarter."

"What if I saved you for the last?"

"Then probably double that."

"Okay. For now, keep playing as you are. You guys need to run faster if you want to catch up to Seiho. We still have around 6, a little less than that for the second. It's still anyone's game right now. Guys think you can kick it into high gear for the last 6?"

They nod their heads in agreements, all looking at one another with a sly grin.

The whistle is blown once again and before I head out, Kuroko-kun tries handing me a bottle of water.

"I'm alright!" I say, as I wave a thank you to him. He gives me a blank look before sitting back down besides Kagami-kun.

"Try not to fall for the same thing," says #7, as he towers over me with a smirk on his face.

The whistle blows and Hyuuga-senpai grabs possession of the ball.

"The same goes for you," I say quietly, as I jump behind him grabbing Mitobe-senpai's pass. Dribbling and running at the same time, I notice Seiho's #10 right on my tail. I could immediately tell he was a first year like myself by the wide smile on his face. Slowly down my pace deliberately, he tries to take the ball away from me but I quick pass to my left, watching Mitobe-senpai run and jump for a hook shot. But a few of the boys from Seiho jump as well, blocking his shot. They pass to their captain and he immediately takes down the court. Going after him, I watch surprised as Izuki-senpai and Mitob-senpai fly by me, with Hyuuga and Koga-senpai trailing behind. The two up front double team Seiho's captain and take the ball from him, passing up front to Hyuuga-senpai. He begins coming down the court but Seiho is right on him. Forcing to a stop, he passes the ball through their legs and towards the hands of Koga-senpai. No one can get on him quick enough so he shoots the ball from the 3 point line, earning us a 3 point lead over Seiho.

After, the second period comes to a stop. Seirin in the lead. Walking back to the bench of Seirin, we all head up to the upstairs locker room.

As the third period makes it's end, I watch on the bench as the ball goes flying down the court thanks to Kagami-kun's rough pass. A player of Seiho runs to catch it, but the balls speed proves to be too much for him. The ball will go out of bounds and end up Seiho's hands. But out of nowhere comes a running Koga-senpai, chasing after the ball with all his might. Running towards us, he slaps the ball back in just before he heads out of bounds. But it seems he can't stop himself from going out either. Continuing to run into our direction, I quickly move to the left just in time to watch Koga-senpai fall off the bench.

"Koga-kun!" yells Riko-senpai, as we all run to a fallen Koga. His eyes are in a daze as he grows unresponsive.

The whistle blows and the rest of Seirin makes their way over.

"Looks like a concussion. Yuki-chan, can you go in for the last three?"

Nodding my head, I stand up and make my way onto the court.

"Do you think you can do it?" asks Kagami-kun, his voice a low whisper beside me.

Staring up at him, I quickly glance towards the score board. We needed at least a point to get in front of Seiho.

"Yes," I answer, as I give him a smile.

He runs towards the center line before nodding his head in approval. I run quickly to Kuroko-kun and tell him we were going to score with "_the jump__"__. _

Seiho get's the ball, causing us all to jump on our checks.

Number 7 seems to be quite the chatter box. "Give it up. Seiho's one of the three kings. Seirin's just a school that keeps coming back to only get their ass handed back."

"You talk a lot," I mumble, as I escape his defensive lock on me. As Seiho has brought the ball into their side, their players begin to scramble, urgently waiting for a pass so they can put the ball in.

I look towards Kagami-kun, giving him a nod. Trailing close to him, I wait for his move. Surely enough, their captain passes to a team mate and they instantly go in for a dunk. I watch as the colour drains from Seirin's face as they watch him going in for the point. Unknowingly to them, Kagami-kun jumps higher than any of us could have expected. Slapping the ball from his hand, the people in the stadium erupt in shouts of amazement. Slapping the ball into my hands, Seiho is quick to jump on me. But I'm quicker to get past them all. Dodging their slapping hands and bodies, I make my way down the court with the ball still in my hand towards Kuroko-kun, who was standing patiently underneath our hoop. Everyone had failed to notice him.

Seiho's captain appears beside me, giving me a stern look. "There's no way you can reach," he says, as he realizes that I was going in for a lay up.

"Try and stop me," I challenge haughtily, as I pump my legs faster towards Kuroko-kun. Right now, the only people on our side was Seiho's captain, Kuroko-kun and myself. Although I wished it had been someone smaller than the captain, I knew that the plan would still work. Seiho's captain slows down, realizing that this was the time for me to jump. But I don't. Instead, I run towards Kuroko-kun with one hand up in the air with the ball still in it. With my other hand, I place it on Kuroko-kun's shoulder, placing my weight and strength into jumping and balancing off of him at the same time. If I had jumped myself, then Seiho's captain would've slapped the ball easily out of my hands. But with Kuroko-kun giving me his extra height, I slam the ball in just in time as the buzzer goes off. Landing on the ground, I stumble to catch my balance.

The people in the stadium once again cheer in amazement, some were even standing up. I walk to Seirin with Kuroko-kun by my side, the both of us talking about how well the play went.

Everyone on the team begins to gush about the move I had just did and how I had managed to keep my balance.

Jumping off the bench, I hug Furihata-kun as the fourth period comes to an end. Seirin had won the game against Seiho. We were now going to face Shutoku.

Congratulating everyone, we grab our stuff and head back to our locker room. On my way there, I stop to call Satsu-chan.

"We won!" I yell happily, as I fight to hold my excitement.

"That's great, Yuki-chan! Did you remember to drink throughout the game?"

I remain quiet, remembering that I hadn't. I had a very bad habit of not drinking water whenever I played a game. When Satsu-chan and I were younger, I remember playing a game in elementary school and I had passed out due to dehydration. Ever since that, Satsu-chan had always been reminding me to always be drinking whenever I had the chance.

"Yeah!" I lie shamefully, as I rub the back of my neck. She remains quiet for a few seconds before believing me. Telling her I'd talk to her later, I run to catch up to the team. But I suddenly stop as I feel my vision grow blurry and my balance begin to go off. Almost falling to the ground, someone grabs me from doing so. Looking at my arm, I noticed that whoever had caught me had their left hand neatly bandaged up.

Practicing a little before our match starts with Shutoku, I try to hide the fact that I was feeling very uneasy. Physically wise. After being caught by a boy with forest green hair and glasses, I thanked him immediately and wobbled my way to the locker room. There, I hid the fact that I was feeling very dehydrated. Riko-senpai began to explain that since we were up against a Generation of Miracles player, that she'd sub out Mitobe-senpai for myself. I refused quickly, half because that Mitobe-senpai's abilities were needed on the court and half because I felt like I was going to pass out. I try to drink the bottle of water in my hands but I find myself growing more and more repulsed by the sight.

She insisted that this was what she thought would benefit Seirin, putting my protests to an end. Now here I was, trying to keep my eyes from shutting.

Shooting the ball and watching it miss, Kuroko-kun taps me on the back. He nods behind us, motioning that over there was his former team mate. I stare intently, a little shocked. The boy who had caught me earlier was a player of the Generation of Miracles. Interesting.

"So he can shoot from anywhere on the court and get it in?" I ask, as I wipe the little sweat from my forehead. I begin to panic as I realize I had been sweating less and less. A sign of dehydration.

"That's right. He's left handed, so that's why it's bandaged up. Not only that, Midorima-kun is very strong and smart."

Still watching Midorima-kun, he walks around the court with a serious expression. His face unreadable. It scared me for some reason.

"So what's our plan?" I ask, as Kuroko-kun and I join everyone else on the bench

"Depends. Kuroko's the only who's played Midorima. We'll need to play through the first with everything and then decide what to do once we get a time out. Although I am worried about Midorima-kun, it's that Kazunari Takao that has me interested," she muses out loud, as she keeps a watchful eye over Shutoku's number 10.

Before we head onto the court, Riko-senpai gives us a few pointers before we do so.

Standing in front of my check who adorns the number 8, I make no attempt to talk to him. Seirin grabs possession of the ball, Hyuuga-senpai passing to Kagami-kun. Midorima-kun stops his efforts, quickly putting up a line of defense. Shutoku is surprised to see Kagami-kun blindly throw the ball, but they fail to notice Kuroko-kun coming out of nowhere, misdirecting it to Izuki-senpai. He runs towards the hoop, but Takao-kun catches up with him easily, slapping the ball out of his hand. He begins to run with all of us after him. He passes to Midorima-kun who isn't even at the half court line. Surely it wouldn't go in!

Staring in amazement, I feel every nerve in my body tense as I watch the ball crisply fly into the net. Shutoku had gotten the first point. What did this mean for Seirin's outcome? Could we bounce back and score? Still in amazement, no one runs to continue the play. The audience in the stadium still continues to cheer. But then my attention is reverted back to the hoop. Kuroko-kun catches the ball, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Something I never saw before. It sent chills up and down my spine.

I watch as Kuroko-kun takes the ball, spinning himself in a circle as he grasps it tightly in his palm. He throws the ball with his final spin, barely missing the side of Midorima-kun's face. Stunned, we all watch it fly down the court into Kagami-kun's hands. How he managed to catch something like that was beyond my comprehension. Since no one was on him, Kagami-kun slams the ball in making the score even.

The audience in the stadium goes mad with excitement. I look at Kuroko-kun, astonished at what just happened. Who would've thought someone like him was capable of such greatness. That's why they called him the Phantom Sixth.

Seirin was taking a time out in the middle of the third quarter. Taking a seat on the bench, I wipe the little sweat off of my forehead with my towel.

By now, Seirin didn't look too good. We were about 9 points behind Shutoku. In the 3 periods, we had come to realize the true strengths of Midorima-kun and Kagami-kun. Midorima-kun could truly shoot at any given time and get it in. But that is if Kagami-kun wasn't there to jump higher and higher with each passing minute to stop his shots. Not only that, we realized Takao-kun had the Hawk's eye. Unlike Izuki-senpai's Eagle eye, Takao-kun could see the whole court and everyone's plays. This proved that Kuroko-kun's misdirection to be useless until we found a strategy to fix that.

"I've found a way to fix Takao-kun's hawk eye," says Riko-senpai, as she takes a seat on the bench.

"How?"

"If we purposely get his attention on Kuroko-kun, then his Hawk's eye is the same as Izuki-kun's Eagle eye. It'll be fixated around Kuroko-kun and the small area around him. Kuroko-kun then can make himself invisible and get back to using his misdirection," she finishes, as her eyes lay upon the bench of Shutoku.

With this newfound information, the time out is over and we head back to the court.

"Yuki-chan!" calls out Riko-senpai, as she calls me back.

"Yeah?" I breath out, trying to hide the fact that I was panting more than usual.

"I want you to sit out for the last 5. I want to use the rest of your strength in the fourth," she says, as she pulls me back. Hesitantly I nod my head in agreement and take a seat. Mitobe-senpai subs in for me and goes back into the game.

I was dying. Well, not literally speaking but I knew I was on the brink of dehydration. To go out and play the fourth quarter with everything I had? I wasn't sure if I'd be able to stand. Grabbing a water bottle from behind the bench, I hold it up to my dry mouth once again. I try to drink but my hand begins to shake uncontrollably. Twisting the cap back on, I throw it behind the bench in agitation. Even if I wanted to drink water my mind kept telling me not to. Why?

Watching the third period intently, I watch in awe as Kuroko-kun's misdirection and Kagami-kun's jumps begin to get better and better. By the end of it, we're only 3 points away from catching up.

But now came the difficult part. The very last quarter where I had to play.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 10: Give Me A Break**

With the break we were given until we went into the last period, I told the team I was going outside for some fresh air. As soon as I got out I fell to the floor. I began to pant unnecessarily and the same blurriness from before was making it's way back into my vision. I needed fluids but I was being stubborn and not taking them. But I'd be fine. Just 10 minutes and then I'd start to replenish my body. No worries.

"Yuki-chan?"

Glancing up, I see the hazy figures of Satsu-chan and Aomine-kun beside her with a blank expression on his face. He clearly didn't want to be here.

"Sa…Satsu-chan!" I breath out, trying to fake the excitement in my voice when I was really in pain. Trying to walk to her like a civilized person, I hug her body. All I could think about was collapsing into her and passing out for the day. As I hug Satsu-chan, I stare up at Aomine-kun from behind her. He peers down at me, saying nothing. But his gaze is intense and almost studious.

Looking away, I pull away from Satsu-chan and ask if they had been watching.

"Well, I was. Aomine-kun kept wandering off," she mutters, as she elbows him in the side. I didn't mention anything of the little dispute between Aomine-kun and I. I laugh along with her, scratching the back of my head.

"Yuki-chan!" yells Furihata-kun from behind.

"I…I have to go. Wish me luck," I say, as I concentrate intensely in walking back to the gym in one piece. I feel Aomine-kun's watchful eyes on my back.

There he goes again, Kagami-kun. He drops in front of Midorima-kun, blocking his shot. There went his last jump. I could tell Kagami-kun didn't have anything left inside of him to do another. He must've been in more pain than myself but it clearly wasn't effecting him right now. As for me, I had been running non-stop back and forth from Shutoku's side to Seirin. I had found a system that once Shutoku went for a break away, I could catch up and pass to Kuroko-kun. From there he could use his misdirection and things would take off.

But as I watch both teams struggling to keep going for the last 3 minutes, I find myself gripping my nails deeply into my palm. I was starting to get painful cramps in the lower side of my abdomen. Just 3 more minutes and I'd be fine. Just…3 more minutes.

It's down to the last couple of seconds of the final quarter against Shutoku, all we need is a point and we'd be able to hold onto our win.

Running with the ball, I come to a stop as Takao-kun has me cornered. Glancing around, no one else is open.

Thinking quickly, I find myself struggling to put my thoughts in place. Random memories of my childhood were flooding through my mind, blocking my memories of basketball techniques. Takao-kun grabs the ball from me, running down the court.

Shocked, I whip around and watch as he and Midorima-kun go in for the basket. If they got it in it was all over for us! I'd feel exceptionally guilty if I let them score considering I let Takao-kun steel the ball. Once again running down the court, I try my hardness to run in a straight line. Appearing beside Takao-kun, I steel the ball and whip it back to the first person I see open. Hyuuga-senpai. Positioned at the 3 point line with only a few seconds remaining, I begin to panic. This was our last chance. Our final chance to get the ball and win. I place all my faith in Hyuuga-senpai and concentrate hard on my will power. I wanted nothing more than instead of myself, but him to get the ball in. He jumps, letting go of the ball. I place my hand over my chest as it miraculously goes in. We did it. Seirin had won against Shutok-

"You are all too quick to celebrate. There are three seconds left," says Midorima-kun, as we all watch in shock as he has the ball in his hands, positioning for a shot.

T-There was no way! Unless he somehow managed to get the ball into the hoop with three seconds. Didn't it take that much time just to release? But then again, Midorima-kun wasn't anyone. He was part of the Generation of Miracles.

As I take a step forward, I hope to make it in time to somehow draw a foul. But my body immediately freezes as an intense shock shoots from my abdomen up to my head. All I hear is a ringing sound as I watch in horror as Midorima-kun jumps to shoot the ball. But the ball doesn't get very far. Kagami-kun, somehow, manages to inhumanly jump once again deflecting his shot. I watch as he exchanges a few words between himself and Midorima-kun, a shocked expression overcoming the green haired boys' face. The buzzer goes off, signalling that Seirin had once again won against another of the three kings.

Smiling, we all walk to the center line for the customary thank you between both teams.

As soon as it's over, Seirin disperses and although all out of gas, they are overjoyed with excitement. Yet I stand in the middle of the court, away from them all. Looking around, I notice that people were already on the court. Probably wanting to talk to some of the famous players who were recently featured in magazines. Yet as I take a step forward towards the boys, my mind suddenly tells me I'm going the wrong way. So I turn and try heading towards Shutoku, but my mind once again tells me I'm going the wrong way. As I try the other two ways, my mind at this point is yelling at me that I was too stupid to even know where I should be going. As I ask myself where to go, my mind tells me that there is no way to go. Confused, I begin to panic and turn my body in circles. Frantically I begin to search for a way out of the little space I had mentally made around myself. Wanting to cry, I notice my eyes were exceptionally dry. No tears were going to make their way.

Collapsing to the floor in a loud thud, I watch helplessly as people begin to run towards my aid. I was so confused. What was I doing here? Where did I have to go? I had never been this badly dehydrated before.

Suddenly, I notice that unfamiliar, blurry bodies begin to enclose around me. Growing even more panicked, I begin to shout incoherent words and try to get away from all the strange looking people. My breathing goes ragged and my heart rate begins to speed up. The blurriness and confusion from before suddenly disappears and I grow deathly quiet.

I also fail to realize that I wasn't hearing anything from before.

"Call the ambulance!"

"Get everyone away from her! She's severely dehydrated if she's this delirious!"

Still on the ground, the quickness of my heart rate begins to frighten me. I watch with a dazed look as finally someone with a familiar face appears in front of me.

It…it was Kise-kun and…Aomine-kun? Glancing around, my team mates were no where to be seen. Most likely lost in the sea of people who had ran to watch my delirium.

"Yukitten!" shouts a frantic Kise-kun, as a worried Kasamatsu-kun tries to shove the other people away.

Looking at him, I notice he has his arms outstretched signalling that it was okay to rest in his arms until help arrived. But due to the confusion that was still lingering in my hand, I begin to find myself forgetting who Kise-kun was. So instead I nestle into Aomine-kun, breathing rapidly as I try to stay conscious. If I didn't, there was always a chance I wouldn't wake up. I feel Aomine-kun's body tense for a good minute before he picks me up in his arms. Something I knew that wasn't in his nature.

Although I hear the persistent orders of Kise-kun and Aomine-kun yelling at me to not close my eyes, I find myself slowly drifting farther away from them. To the point where the only sense I have left is smell. The warm, inviting scent of Aomine-kun was the last thing I remembered.

**Read me: The next few chapters will have more Aomine and Yuki moments. I know the past ones may have been a little boring to read but I didn't want to forget about the basketball aspect of the story, so that's why the last two were games. The next chapter will focus on rebuilding the relationship between the two. Thank you for reading and love you all! xx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 11: I'm Sorry**

Laying in the soft, plush mattress of the hospital bed I look out the nearby window with a sad expression on my face. Today was the day after our win against Seiho and Shutoku and I was spending it in the hospital. After arriving, I was told they did a numerous amount of tests and IV transfusions before they gave me the a final verdict. Of course it was severe dehydration. The explanation for blurry vision, nausea, cramps and delirium. But what pained me the most wasn't all that, it was being given the news by Satsu-chan that I was probably out of basketball for a week. Or better yet, 3-4 days if my body replenished that quickly. But what difference did it make? I failed the team of Seirin by letting not only them down, but myself. I wouldn't be able to play with them against our next opponent in the Inter-High preliminaries. Which I heard today would be against Touou. In a way, I was glad I didn't have to play against Aomine-kun. Half of it was because I didn't want to play against him and the other half was because I didn't want to see that much darker, stronger side of him come out. It wasn't that it frightened me, I just didn't know who he was anymore.

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind my hair, I pick up the bottle of fluid the hospital was giving me every hour around the clock until I was discharged.

Suddenly, I hear a knock on my door and yell for them to come in. I'm surprised to see Kuroko-kun and the team quietly walk in.

"Imouto!" yell my senpai's, as they immediately rush my bed with their bodies, hugging me gently into them.

Relaxing into their hugs, I pull away and hug the coach.

"You're a stupid, stupid girl," she says, as she gently strokes the top of my head. Riko-senpai was the big sister I never had. I thanked God for having her as Seirin's coach.

"Why didn't you say anything?" asks Kagami-kun, as he takes a seat into the empty seat beside me. Although he doesn't show it, I could tell by the sudden change in aura around him that he was worried.

"S-Sorry, everyone. I'm really just a child who needs to be reminded to drink water every now and then," I say softly, as I once again find myself staring out the window. It was beautiful today. The sun was out, there were no clouds in the sky. Yet my mind was filled with cloudy thoughts of the past day. I couldn't remember half of the game against Shutoku, the thought of it depressing me. One of the biggest wins in my life and I couldn't even remember what my role in it all was. I was really pathetic.

Slowly, I find something creeping up my legs. It was…heavy and had four legs? Looking down, I cover my mouth in awe. The cuteness of the small thing was bringing tears to my eyes. Cuddling the small black and white puppy, he begins to lick my face affectionately. As I begin to rub his ears, I can't help but stare at his eyes. They were large and so blue. But they also had a blank feeling towards them. Looking back and forth between the puppy and Kuroko-kun, I finally realize the similarity.

"HE LOOKS JUST LIKE YOU!" I yell out, as I point towards him and the puppy.

"We're calling him Tetsuya Nigou," says Riko-senpai, as she happily pats the dogs head. Looking to my right, I notice Kagami-kun beginning to shuffle farther and farther towards the open window.

"Kaga-kun?"

"He's afraid of dogs," says Koga-senpai, a smile on his face as he and the others watch Kagami-kun's misfortune. Climbing out of the bed, I begin to walk towards Kagami-kun with the fluff of mess in my hands.

"G-Get it away from me!" he yells, as he falls to the floor in panic.

"Ba-ka-ga-miii," I cheer, a usual insult that I called him.

"Y-Yuki-chan. Be careful. It's only been a day," says Izuki-senpai, as he knows that I shouldn't be getting too excited.

"I'll be fine, Izu-"

Slipping on a piece of clothing I had left on the ground, I find myself stumbling towards the opened window. Clenching Tetsuya Nigou in my grasp, I'm prepared to save it's life before my own. Kagami-kun grabs my arm back while Mitobe-senpai yanks the window shut.

"IDIOT! WERE YOU REALLY GOING TO SAVE THAT STUPID DOG?" yells Kagami-kun, as he hands me off to Hyuuga-senpai who sits me back down on the bed.

"But you'd be there to save me, right?" I laugh jokingly, as I hand Tetsuya Nigou back to Kuroko-kun. I watch as the puppy happily licks his cheek. The resemblance between the two was something else.

"So, they tell us you'll be out for a week or so," says the coach, as she takes a seat beside me on the bed. Not wanting to really look at her face in fear of disappointment, I force myself to and I'm surprised to what I find. Forgiveness, love, worry and understanding. This was the Riko-senpai I knew.

"We'll be fine, imouto. If anyone out of us I'd rather have it you taking it easy than anyone else," reassures Hyuuga-senpai, as he places a hard hold on top of my head. I remain silent, taking in the comforting love of my family. I wouldn't rather be spending my day in the hospital without these bunch.

"Hyuuga was really worried though. He called me at 3 in the morning crying if he should go and check on you," says Izuki-senpai, as a small grin appears on his face, rubbing his chin in amusement.

"Idiot! Says the one who started crying when the ambulance got there!" yells Hyuuga-senpai, shaking a laughing Izuki-senpai by the shirt.

"Don't forget Kagami-kun also had to be taken," says Hyuuga-senpai, sparing no one in his little rampage of truth.

I look at Kagami-kun, watching the blood drain from his face. He stares at the ceiling in humiliation.

"Kaga-kun? Why? What happened?" I ask, beginning to grow a little concerned. Seeing this, Riko-senpai places a comforting hand on my arm, calming me down.

"Bakagami couldn't walk. None of us wanted to carry him to the hospital," says Kuroko-kun, his voice serious and dull as he insults Kagami-kun.

"You say that like I was a burden!" yells Kagami-kun, as he walks to Kuroko-kun and begins to shake him by the shirt as well. All Kuroko-kun has to do is shove Tetsuya Nigou in his face for Kagami-kun to go flying down the other side of the room.

There's a knock on the door and one of the nurses pops her head in.

"I'm sorry, but the patient needs a few more tests to be done on her. You lively bunch are more than welcome to stop by any time," she says, her voice clearly being strained in order to say it in the most polite way as possible. I didn't blame her, we were being quite loud anyways and I'm sure that there were other patients unlike me who actually needed the rest.

Saying goodbye to my team mates and giving one last hug to Tetsuya Nigou, they tell me that they'd try to stop by again or if not tomorrow morning. Hyuuga-senpai told me to text them all as soon as I got news of being discharged.

And once again, I'm left alone to the darker side of myself. The resentful feelings I had that I was a failure. A child. Always needing to be looked after. I was hopeless.

The doctor and few other nurses who had been tending to me take a few a blood samples and breathing tests before refilling my IV. I thank them graciously as they leave me alone once again. Pulling out my phone in what had been a long time, I stare intently at my wallpaper. It was still the picture of the younger boy who had liked me. Him and myself together with a large smile on each other's faces. It had been taken the day after the sales of the calendars. A much simpler, quieter time. A time where I knew who I was, what I wanted and who I wanted.

Now I had no clue who I was. Did I let the dehydration incident get out of hand on purpose? I had the opportunity to drink water but I mentally denied it. I've always wanted to play basketball to prove myself as a woman player. I know that I've done it, or at least attempted to. I was perfectly fine with the way I was living my life. But, there was still the fact of who I wanted. I was never the type to invest my precious time into a boy who I liked. I dedicated everything to basketball. That was my excuse. Now that I had found someone like Aomine-kun, I was slipping away from basketball. How could I find a balance between the two? But what did it matter, Aomine-kun was still avoiding me. After talking to Satsu-chan this morning, she told me that after Aomine-kun had brought me to the ambulance, he was the only they offered to sit along with during the ride to the hospital. She told me he refused and after that she couldn't find him anywhere.

What pained me the most of this experience was that Aomine-kun declined to sit in the ambulance with me. Was that how much he still resented me?

Downing the last bottle of hospital fluid I had been given, I hide my body underneath the plush covers. Pulling them over my head, I really wish Satsu-chan was here, but she was busy at the preliminaries that were still going on. Better yet, I wish my two, elder brothers were here. I wonder if they knew about my condition. I hope they didn't scold Satsu-chan. That last thing I wanted was her feeling like it was all her fault. The last thing I would ever want was any of my friends to feel like my current condition was their fault. It wasn't.

Closing my eyes, I force myself to sleep. Let's face it, dreams were always better than facing reality.

Stirring around in my bed uncomfortably, I really wish I was lying in the comfort of my own bed. Slowly cracking my eyes open, I find that I managed to sleep until 7:30. Tugging the covers off of my face, I find that a plate of food is waiting neatly on a tray beside my bed. Sitting upright, I stare at the boring plate of food unhappily. It wasn't as if I was on a strict diet, just the food they were giving me was extremely bland and unappetizing. Reaching over, I try to grab the plate instead of pulling the tray towards me like a smart person. But due to the little common sense I had from time to time, I jump as the plate falls to the ground in the dimly lit room. Well, there went my dinner.

Suddenly the door to my room opens, welcoming in the bright light from the hallway.

"Ah, Satsu-chan. I…missed…."

Slowly trailing off, I force my eyes to adjust to the light faster. After a few moments they do, taking in the figure that had walked into my room. It was very tall and certainly did not have big breasts like Satsu-chan.

The shadow saunters quietly towards me. The first thing I see is it's beautifully long, white hair.

"Y-Yamaken?" I stutter helplessly, as I find my eyes beginning to water at the edges.

"It's pathetic seeing you like this," he mutters casually, as he takes a seat in the chair beside me.

I stare lovingly at my eldest brother, Yamaken. Being at the prime age of 24, he played for the basketball team in Miami. I only saw him once every year, due to _his_ busy schedule. Our mom was always trying to get all of us together, but it never happened. Mostly because Yamaken took his basketball a little too seriously. He believed that training and training alone was the only thing that would get one far in the game. He did not rely on others because he deemed himself as the best player on the court. Passing to another play would only degrade his already superior skills. In general, Yamaken was cold and blunt. He held the rules and respect above all.

The only thing he and I shared in common was that we both had a love for the game. Other than that, his hair was noticeably long and soft, much lighter than the rest of us. Almost an angelic white. But he was nothing of the sorts. His eyes were slanted, deceitful and cunning in a way. Yamaken was always the proper one in the family. He didn't like nicknames, insolence or happy people like myself and our other brother. He always regarded me as feeble, unintelligent and almost always referred to me as "_child"_. But deep down, I knew Yamaken had a heart and he did love me. Even though he was distant and crude most of the time.

"I see you dropped your food. How unfortunate," he muses out, as he begins to stare at me with judgmental eyes.

Squirming under his steely gaze, I try to ask him what he was doing here.

Silence suddenly fills the room, all you could hear were the light footsteps of the nurses travelling back and forth between the halls.

"To retrieve you. It's utterly clear that that cousin of ours can not properly look after a child like yourself. You've made our mother into a worrisome type now. Which has begun to interfere in not only my life, but that bratty brother of ours as well. You'll be spending the Summer with me until I find it fit that you can handle life in Japan with-"

"N-No way! I need to spend the Summer here with the team and prac-"

"Practice? Please. From what I've seen, they are nothing more than an average high school team full of-"

"You're wrong! They're determined, strong willed, focus, caring, lov-"

"Yes, because all those things matter on a court? In a game? The only thing you need by your side is power and power alone. If you would only hold that notion by your heart, then maybe you'd be as good as you look," he scoffs out, as he daintily rubs some lint that had caught onto his black, cashmere sweater off to the ground.

"You won't be here for the Summer and that's that. It is not only mine, but mother's wishes. So I advise you push away the matter and agree."

Looking away from his ice like gaze, I look down at my dry, tattered hands. Years of basketball had made them rough and worn out. I _needed _to be here for the Summer. I needed to go by my days knowing that I had a hard working team to work with, to wake up every morning to my loving, bubbly cousin. And I also needed Kise-kun to keep me on my toes and bring me back to reality. But most importantly, I needed Aomine-kun. For a numerous amount of reasons that I could find myself to even say.

But, I'd be gone for 2 months. Looking at it now, that was a lot of time. Maybe I needed it to reflect on myself and the things I wanted to achieve?

Hesitantly I nod my head, agreeing to his words.

"Hm. Well, I'll go and tell the nurses that you've made a mess out of your dinner. I would've brought you something to eat, but you are the one who put yourself in this God awful place. I'll see it that I sign your papers for your discharging. After that, we'll be immediately catching a flight home," he says quietly and sternly, as he gets up from his chair. Yamaken walks towards me, placing a comforting hand on my head.

"You mean _your _home," I mutter back, as I take his hand off of my head. He holds it by his side, staring at me with charred eyes. I immediately take back my words and apologize to my over ruling brother.

But then I'm suddenly remembered that Seirin's game is tomorrow.

"W-Wait. Seirin's-"

"Against Touou? You don't need to see it. They will be crushed and that will be the end of it. I do not plan on wasting my time watching a bunch of children play _ball,_" he insights, as he begins to make way for the door.

He gives me one last look, full of warning before he quietly escapes the once again dark, lonesome room.

I'd find a way to get the game in time. Even if Yamaken was standing in my way.

Waking up the next morning, I'm shocked to realize that I woke up at 12 PM. Seirin vs. Touou was almost over! Checking my phone, I had received no texts. And that worried me. A nurse comes to my room telling me that I was getting discharged. She orders me to change and in the process carefully tells me my restrictions and dates when I had to come back in for a check-up. She dismisses me saying that I had a boy waiting for me outside.

Bursting out of my confinement and into the hall, I suddenly stop myself. Yamaken was waiting for me outside. If he saw me, there'd be no way he'd let me go to the game. Unless, unless I managed to find a way out from the back! Stopping a nearby nurse, I ask kindly where the back exit was. Pointing me in the right direction, I run down the hall and down a few flight of stairs. It's not after a few minutes until I find the twin doors, labelled "**exit**" above them. Ramming my body into, which I now know wasn't a good idea, I find myself stumbling to catch my balance.

Immediately someone catches me, their grasp hard and forceful. My eyes go wide with fear as I recognize the long, white hair pooling around me.

"You're tricks are old, Yukari. If only you would grow up," muses Yamaken, as he begins to tow me away from the hospital.

"L-Let go! I need to-"

"Your precious little group of _boys _lost. An embarrassing one at it. To think they could have stopped _him._ Let's be honest, if it was just _him_ verses your whole team they'd still face defeat by his hands," he mutters, as a grin overcomes his thin lips.

"What do you mean by _him_?" I ask quietly, as I already know the answer. It was him alright.

"That number 5 player of Touou. The one with the noticeably dark skin. He's the type of man all players should take note of. He plays to win and plays with only himself."

I remain quiet, as Yamaken continues to drag me along. I had immense faith in my team, no matter what the odds may be. I wasn't upset that they lost to Aomine-kun, I was happy that they had the strength to face him. To fight and try. It was more than I could have ever wanted. But as Yamaken continues to lead the way to a black sedan in front, I begin to tell him that I needed to at least say goodbye.

"Our flight departure is in less than an hour. You're lucky I let you sleep that long. God knows how much of a nuisance you are when you don't get any," he retorts back, his voice almost mocking. Giving him an angered look, I begin to squirm out of his reach.

"Let me go! If I leave like this, everyone will get the wrong idea!" I yell desperately, as I begin to feebly hit his arm. Turning to me, I see that look of fire form in his dark irises.

"Just why the hell are you being so-"

"Because I'm afraid I won't come back!" I scream, as I ignore the tears that were sliding down my face. It was true. Miami had everything I wanted. The people, the life, the basketball. The few times I visited I found myself fitting right in. But I was constantly afraid that I may never want to leave. Japan was nothing like the American city. I was afraid to leave Seirin and all the people I loved because I knew I wouldn't find myself to leave.

Yamaken remains quiet, his grip still tight around my wrist.

"Don't worry, _child_. I do not plan for your residency with me to be permanent. I will send you back to this dump of a life you cherish, whether it be kicking and screaming. Like how it is now."

Looking up at Yamaken, I realize what he meant. Opening the back of the door, I begin to kick and scream like he had said. All I wanted was a goodbye. Time to explain myself. That was all. But instead, I sit in the back seat of a car that reeks of leather and fine wines. All I wanted was myself and the life that went along with it. But I wouldn't be seeing it for 2 months.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 12: Finally, Now On To Basketball!**

**2 MONTHS LATER**

Walking down the long platform of Japan's train station, I tuck a piece of stray hair behind my ear as I try to ignore the strange looks from passer bys.

During my leave, I had spent a couple of weeks ignoring Yamaken and his presence; he went about his days perfectly fine with it. It wasn't until our other brother, Yamato, had arrived who solved the conflict between us. Much to Yamaken's dismay. Yamato, who played for the team in New York City, had spent a week with just myself in the busy city of Miami. There he opened my eyes and explained the truth of Yamaken's actions.

"_Ken__'__s only looking out for you. He just doesn__'__t want you to grow alone in your basketball. Think about it. With you here, you can annoy the hell outta him and have him finally teach you his skills. He__'__s at your disposal for 2-__"_

"_What was that?__"__ chips in Yamaken, as Yamato and I turn around to find him leaning against the door frame with an annoyed scowl on his lips._

"_Keeeeeeeeen-chan!__"__ happily cheers Yamato, as the child of the family, despite being 21, jumps onto Yamaken. Yamaken swiftly and casually throws him off, proceeding to yell at him as to how a filthy boy like him could just oh so casually go and embrace him.. _

In that moment, I had sat quietly watching my two brother's fight and then laugh it off. Yamato and Yamaken had a very distinct bond between one another. I myself shared a deep bond with Yamato. I suppose it was because he was so easy to love. He was always playing tricks, laughing and always caring for the well beings of others. He and I shared the same outlook on basketball. A more than enough of a reason to admire him.

So during those 2, gruelling months, I had put away the phone and everything else. I focused on basketball and rebuilding a somewhat of a relationship with Yamaken. Although he did yell at me constantly when it came to eating the right choices of food. He was exactly like Satsu-chan in that way.

Now here I was, after 2 months away. I was a completely different person.

During the first week where I did have my phone, I managed to get into contact with everyone from Seirin. After explaining myself and everything that happened, they were more than happy for me. I went on to admit my fear of not coming back to Hyuuga-senpai, to which he quickly said, "_Then we__'__ll come for you.__"_ Hearing those words made me realize that I would come back to Japan. There was no doubt about it. But when it came to Aomine-kun, it was much, much different. After trying to reach a hold of him, it was no use. When I talked to Satsu-chan, she told me that Aomine-kun was done. Quote on quote saying, "_I__'__m sure she__'__ll find another guy to keep her busy.__"_ I was beyond hurt by those words. What did he mean, _"__another guy__"_? There was only one! Him. I felt betrayed, angered and pathetic. I had then come up with the conclusion that if Aomine-kun saw me in that type of light, then he didn't deserve my company. Simple as that.

At least that's what I kept saying to myself. I constantly felt my mind wandering off to thoughts of him throughout the first couple of weeks. But then every memory of him I had just suddenly…disappeared.

Now here I was walking home. Well, to Satsu-chan's home. I had originally planned to come back home tomorrow, but conveniently enough, Satsu-chan's birthday fell on the day right before school. So Yamaken booked my flight a day early and told me tell her that "_This was my gift to you__"_.

Throughout my walk home, I can't help but smile the whole way. I was glad to be in Japan. I was glad to stick out in basketball, even more so with my hair and tan. Yes, due to the extremely hot weather in Miami, I had came back to Japan with a dark, caramlized skin tone and beach blonde hair. Something that I wasn't too fond off. Yet, this was me. My life. My home.

Stopping in front of Satsu-chan's house, I look up with a huge smile on my face. This would always be home.

I wake up the next day, quickly packing Satsu-chan and I's lunches for school.

As I hear her footsteps rushing down the stairs, she stops at the very last one, staring at me with a shocked expression. I knew exactly why.

"I've-"

"Y-You actually did your hair. N-Not just in a pony tail, but you actually styled it. A-And…and you're…you-"

"Yes, yes. I'm not wearing tights," I chide, as I begin to pack her school bag for her. It was true. I had thrown my lazy, self conscious self out the door after my first month in Miami. Being around all types women and men who oh so casually flaunted their bodies around so proudly made me realize that if an old, elderly couple had no problem showing skin, then what did I have to worry about? Well, besides the leering eyes of the male population I suppose. But, one of Yamaken's team mates for a week made me train kick boxing with him. If anyone tried anything, I could pin them down to the floor with just my legs. In 3 different ways.

"It's not fair. You're officially cuter than me! Look at you, Yuki-chan! You're going to be offered model-"

"P-Please, don't embarrass me! I'm clearly not skinny enough and my chest measurements aren't right at all for any modelling agency!"

"I think Aomine-kun would agree with me and say that you'd be perfect for swimsuit mod-"

"L-Let's go!" I blurt out, as I push myself out of the door. Really, Satsu-chan was too much to handle. Me, a swimsuit model with my chest out in everyone's faces? I know that I wasn't self conscious anymore but it didn't mean that I didn't worry about my body from time to time! I hear Satsu-chan giggle as she slams the door shut and appears beside me.

Walking down the front strip of Seirin High's entrance, I'm swallowed up by the sea of new and old students. Not only that, but their intense gazes threaten to eat me up alive. It was weird. In a school full of fair skinned, dark haired and bright haired from time to time, a girl with beach blonde hair and tanned skin was something you didn't see everyday. Even students that I did know were asking others who I was. So, this was how it'd be like today.

Continuing to follow the motion of the crowd, I'm immediately handed flyers of different clubs, each persuading me to join them. With each flyer I received came a dumbfounded, dreamy look of each boy it had came from. I had to run away from a few that were trying to get something other than a flyer into my hands. Continuing to descend on my never lasting journey looks, I finally come across the club I had been wanting to see the most.

"Mitobe, maybe we'd actually get some new members if you asked them to join," says Koga-senpai, as he gives Mitobe-senpai a pleading look.

"Yeah. It's a little creepy watching you hand them out with nothing but a smile," laughs Izuki-senpai, as he too joins in on the one sided conversation.

"But maybe he actually managed to get someone to join."

"That could be right. With everyone saying the same thing over and over, being handed a flyer where the giver doesn't say anything could spark some interest," infers Izuki-senpai, as he rubs his chin in thought.

"Hey, let's try it!"

I proceed to stand and watch as the three of them hand flyers, only a deathly, solemn look on Koga and Izuki-senpai's face. At least Mitobe-senpai was smiling! With the two's murderous look and Mitobe-senpai's happy go lucky smile, it was most certainly sending off the wrong mention. Students began to purposely steer away from the three.

"Idiots! All of you," chimes in Hyuuga-senpai, as he decides to only hit Izuki-senpai on the head.

"Neh, neh. I think it was smart," I chip in, my voice a little hesitant at first. I catch Mitobe-senpai's eyes, flashing him a smile. He stares at me with a blank expression, until I watch his eyes begin to grow wide and his mouth begin to open.

W-Was he going to speak?!

I take a step back, a little shocked that my appearance could make a mute person speak. But instead, Mitobe-senpai hugs me tightly into him. It was apparent that he did remember me through this new look.

"Mitobe! Don't go around hugging random gir- I-imouto?" stutters Hyuuga-senpai, a shocked, appalled look written on his face.

"A random girl? You don't remember your little-"

Everyone begins to hug me, each gushing about how they missed me and about my new appearance. I begin to explain to them how it all happened and that I should be back to normal in a couple of months. Hopefully.

"…and then-"

Suddenly, someone large bumps into me causing me to stumble into someone even larger. Falling back, I felt like a ping pong ball traveling from side to side. Much to my appreciation and dismay, someone much smaller catches my form. But it is apparent I've taken them by surprise. We both fall back, with me landing on top of him.

"G'yah! I'm so sorry. I- K-Kuro-kun?" I whisper quietly, as I look down at the blue haired boy before me. I cry overjoyed and hug Kuroko-kun into my chest. He inreturn gives me a blank expression.

"Please forgive. But, who are-"

"Kuro-kun, it's-

"Yuki," says a familiar, slightly agitated voice.

I look to my side and notice the tall, large man that was Kagam-kun. I run towards him and jump happily on his arm; placing all my weight on it.

"Shi- Don't do that!" he growls out, as he tries to keep me suspended in the air.

"Ba-ka-ga-miiiiii," I cheer, as I reach up to pinch his cheeks. He quickly swats my hand away, clearly flustered because of my touchy actions.

"So this is the girl I've heard so much about," says an unfamiliar voice from behind. Turning, I'm met with a tall, probably taller than Kagami-kun, man staring down at me. He had to be a good 20 cm's taller than myself. H-How did I miss him?!

"Yuki-chan, this is Teppei Kiyoshi. Seirin's basketball team founder and previous ace," introduces Hyuuga-senpai, as he crosses his arms over his chest.

Looking up at Seirin's founder, I find myself staring intently at him. So this was the man who started it all. Who, in a way, brought me to this wonderful team of boys and girl.

Bowing down in front of him, I thank him graciously.

"Eh? Well, this is a first. You-"

"Idiot! At least tell her to stop," yells Hyuuga-senpai, as he hits Kiyoshi-senpai on the head. Rising myself, I watch the two in front of me begin to argue, with Kiyoshi-senpai smiling and apologetic the whole time. So is this what Satsu-chan and I looked like? Two best friends arguing, laughing and most importantly, smiling through it all. Seeing these two in front of me was really-

"I see that you guys are once again fooling around!" yells a familiar, girly voice. Whipping my head to the left, I take in her small, thin form. She hadn't changed. Everything about her was short. Her height, her hair and it looks like her temper as well. Running to her, I engulf her small frame into my almost now 176 cm body.

"R-Riko-sen…paiiiii," I cry pathetically, as I continue to hug her into me.

"Y-Yuki-chan?!" she screeches, as she looks up at me. Nodding my head, I see the heat rise up to her cheeks. "You…you look so beautiful," she murmurs, as she continues to intently stare at me. My tears stop as I stare back at her. "R-Riko-"

"Coach, haven't you heard? It's taboo to fall for your own play-"

"WELL WE ALL KNOW YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!" yells the coach, as she runs to kick Izuki-senpai in the gut. The two begin to argue furiously, with Hyuuga-senpai suddenly being brought into the matter. Eventually, everyone was arguing and ironically enough, Mitobe-senpai was the moderator.

Laughing myself, I find my hand lost in Kuroko-kun's soft, blue hair. It was still the same I had left it. Softer than ever.

"Don't let Kuroko and I down," yells Kagami-kun, as I stand alongside him in the middle of the court in Seirin's gym. It was the first time after a little over 2 months all of us would be finally playing together. Together for the Winter Cup.

"I'll try my best not to," I say seriously, as I remember every horrible practice that I had in Miami. Which was all of them. Well, minus the week I went kick boxing but I wasn't sure if that counted as practice.

It was Kagami-kun, Kuroko-kun, myself, Furihata-kun and one of the other first years, Tsuchida-kun. Us against Hyuuga-senpai, Mitobe-senpai, Izuki-senpai, Koga-senpai and the new, but old comer Kiyoshi-senpai.

"Okay, let's see what we have to show at the Winter Cup!" yells Riko-senpai, as she blows a hard, quick blow into her whistle.

Let's see if they can keep up with Yamaken's training. Kagami-kun grabs a hold of the ball, immediately passing it to me. Koga-senpai is my check and he's immediate to quickly get on me. Trying to dribble past him, I only notice that the other senpai's are ready to take me down. Still searching, I find Kuroko-kun fighting to stay invisible amongst them all. Looking at his positioning, he was near the hoop. Perfect.

Fighting for some much needed room between Koga-senpai and I, I finally get the right amount to go in for a shot. Jumping, I flick my wrist slowly and hard, watching with content as the ball makes a high, beautiful arch.

"There's no way that's going in!" says Kiyoshi-senpai, as he looks up in the air in astonishment.

That's right, it wouldn't. Instead the ball flies to Kuroko-kun perfectly, landing in his hands. He quickly passes to Furihata-kun who dribbles pass Mitobe-senpai but fights to break free.

I run up the court myself and notice that Kagami-kun had his hands tied with a much bigger, determined Kiyoshi-senpai. Well, although I could only use this move once every game, I might as well do it now.

Fighting through a persistent Koga-senpai, I almost draw a foul myself as I find myself struggling with his defense. These guys had gotten better. A lot better.

Finally getting through, I begin running towards the hoop and planning for my move. As soon as I'm at the right distance, I yell at Furihata-kun to throw the ball up. I almost mess up because I can see the hesitance in Furihata-kun as he un-reluctantly throws it in the air.

Using all my force, I jump off of the ground and into the air, my arm outstretched for the prize; the orange ball. Grabbing it, I slam it effortlessly into the hoop while landing back gracefully back onto the ground.

The gymnasium quiet, the only thing audible was my ragged breaths of excitement. That's right. Aisaka Yukari had mastered the dunk.

"H-How?" stutters Kagami-kun, as he looks at me and the hoop with a shocked expression.

"It's simple. She can only do it once per each game. As she runs to the hoop, no one will expect her to dunk it, so no one will stop her. But she will and will get it in considering no one has enough time to react and stop her. But if she tries it again, anyone would be able to stop her," says Kiyoshi-senpai, his voice cool and perceptive.

I stare at him, a small smile to my lips. "It's not much, considering it's only a one time-"

"Who knows Yuki-chan. A one point difference may be all we need one day to win," states Riko-senpai, as she stares at me from the bench with a fond look on her face.

"I-Imouto. D-Don't just grow up without us," cry my senpai's, as they ghostly begin to reach towards me. Frightened by their deathly, depressed looks, I use Kiyoshi-senpai as a shield. "Y-You're the only normal one," I stutter out, as I push him forward.

"What's that? You want to go to the zoo after school? And shopping? Anything for my dearest sis-"

"I take it back! You're the worst!" I cry out in fear, as I realize that Kiyoshi-senpai was going to be taking part in my senpai's weird, little game against me.

Everyone begins to laugh at my misfortune. It was great to be back.

Walking home, I fish out the few notes I had received in my locker after school.

"_We should__'__ve went to Miami together. I wouldn__'__t had mind slapping some lotion on your-__"_

I immediately crumple up the small, folded piece of paper. I hated boys.

After a successful day of school filled with laughter and catching up, I had to admit that adjusting back to school life was proving to be hard. If I was back in Miami, I'd be doing intense sprint trainings with Yamaken by now. But, this wasn't Miami nor was Yamaken even in the same country as myself. I just had to get used to the flow of motion now that we were heading for the Winter Cup.

Pulling out my phone to call Satsu-chan, I hold it up to my ear and wait for her to pick up.

"Yuuuuuki-chan. What's up?"

Ignoring Satsu-chan, I slowly place my phone back my side. I can't help hear a loud commotion happening in front of me. About 5, teenaged boys from an unfamiliar high school were harassing a small, but chubby frightened little boy, who was clearly in the basketball cage first.

"B-But I was-"

"Who gives a shit, kid? Beat it or we'll have to force you outta here!" yells the "leader" of the group. He was taller and much leaner looking than the other four. He had the power of intimidation, strength and fear. I watch helplessly as he grabs the little boys shirt, holding him suspended in the air.

"Yuki-chan? Yuki-chan, what's going on?" I hear Satsu-chan's voice, it was a low buzz and barely audible. I forget that I have her on the line and place the phone back into my bag.

Sighing in frustration, I set my bag on the floor and quickly unzip it. After never receiving back my lucky ball, I had figured that Aomine-kun would never return it back to me. After telling the story to Yamaken, the next day he had gone out and bought a black basketball. My old ball was the standard orange but he told me that I "_needed colour in your life__"_. Not just that, he went all out and had got all the members of the Miami team to write a few encouraging words. Well, some of them were. I swear I saw someone write, "_Hope this hits Yamaken in the head.__"_

I didn't dare show it to him in fear that he might find who had written it and do something that could end him up in court.

But nevertheless, the gesture was sweet and I was surprised Yamaken had gone through all the trouble.

Pulling the black, deadly sphere out, I begin to aim skill fully towards the tall man harassing the child. I hesitate, not sure if I really wanted to inflict pain on him. Sure he was being absurdly rude to the boy, but did he really deserve the pain of a basketball speeding into his ribs?

Suddenly, a few words are exchanged and the older boy tosses the younger one onto the ground. Then did I realize what I had to do.

Retracting my arm back as far as it would go, I aim at his ribs and eject the ball out of my hands. I watch pleasantly as it nails him in the side, causing him to topple over in pain. The little boy and the other four look at me in amazement.

Picking up my bag from the ground, I casually walk towards the group, picking my ball up and placing it neatly into my bag.

"You little-"

Ignoring whatever they had to say to me, I walk slowly towards the little boy, crouching beside him.

"Are you-"

Looking into the glasses of the boy, I can see the reflection of not only myself, but what was going on behind me. I-I didn't think he'd react so quickly and bluntly!Turning around in time, I receive the blow of the man's punch that I had nailed my ball into his side. Falling beside the younger boy on the ground, I feel the heavy onslaught of blood begin to trickle down my nose and onto my white blouse. The all too familiar pain of being punched in the face comes flooding back to me. I didn't remember it being this painful. That may be because I hadn't been punched in years.

"Stupid bitch! That's what you get for trying to act so tough. Pretty little girls like you should stick to cheer leading than trying to play," he spits out, as he holds his side in pain. He angrily runs an irritated hand through his sleek, black hair.

I continue to sit on the cold, dirty concrete. Although I had taken a week of kick boxing, by no means did I actually think that I'd actually hit someone with my fists and legs. As always, I was all talk and no show. Here I was paying for it.

"If I me and the boys ever see your dirt skin here again, we'll do more than smash your face in," he warns menacingly, as he points a "dangerous" finger at my face.

I wish to get up and this time throw the ball at his face, but I knew the other four would show no hesitation to come after me. Worse enough, they could use the little boy beside me as some sort of sick torment.

Looking away, I slowly nod my head signalling that they could leave now. Grabbing their own ball from the ground, they all exit the cage. But not before staring at me intently, memorizing my face, my body. Myself.

"Y…yo' bleedin'," mumbles the little beside me, as he grabs my arm in worry.

I pat his head with my other hand, giving him a reassuring smile.

"I'll…I'll be fine. Quick, go home now before they come back," I order, as I help him get up. Reluctantly he does so, his hand still on my arm. "I don't-"

"GO!" I yell out forcefully, kicking him lightly on the back. He grows frightened at my face, quickly picking his ball up as he runs home in fear.

I didn't want him sticking around. I didn't want him to see my pitiful form much longer. I didn't want to get an innocent child like himself in some weird, sick threat over some thugs and myself. I had to save his innocence.

Getting up myself, I stumble back clumsily, hitting my back into the fence. My nose was still bleeding and I was doing a terrible job at trying not to lose blood. I slouch back onto the concrete floor, tilting my head back. The man had punched incredibly hard. Well, what was to expect from a basketball player.

I knew my nose wasn't broken because I would've felt that same, excruciating, burning sensation in my nasal like I had felt 5 years back. After refusing to get off the court that was nearby my house, one of the guys fighting for it took it too far and punched me right in the face. He knocked me right out. The next time I woke up, Yamato and Yamaken's faces were right in mine. After that, I wasn't allowed to leave the house without a male guardian. It was pointless. The few males who didn't mind playing with me grew scared of the tall, muscled guys who followed me. Soon enough, I was back to playing basketball in my back yard by myself.

Continuing to lose blood and stain my clothes, I was surprised that the many people who did walk in the neighbourhood were no where to be seen. Oh, that's right. They probably all fled when those dangerous looking guys showed up. Unlike myself, most people tried to avoid unnecessary conflict.

Hearing the cage open and close, I squeeze my eyes shut in fear. Was he back for more?

"What a beautiful mess," muses a soft, perceptive voice.

Looking up, I stare into the eyes of a pale, red headed boy. He crouches down next to me, grabbing my arm as he pulls me up. I continue to stare deeply into his eyes. One was a deep, ruby red while the other was an exciting mix of orange and yellow. He had heterochromatic eyes. The only reason I knew this was because my brother Yamato had the same problem as well. His left eye was a light, honey colour and the other a dark blue.

He grabs my bag off the ground with one hand, while keeping the other around my waist. He leads us slowly out of the cage, telling me to not over exert myself. He makes me sit on the neck outside of the cage, placing my bag by my feet. The red headed man stands in front of me, a perceptive, dark look on his face as he studies my bloody form.

"You are an…interesting girl," he says softly, as he gently rests a kind hand on top of my hair. He begins to rub it softly, revelling in the silk like texture.

I too enjoy the touch of his hand. For osme reason, it was comforting, soothing the pain. I unconsciously find myself reaching out to him, wanting to hug his body. There was something about his strange appearance and personality that I wanted to be covered in.

But he grabs my out stretched hand, placing it to my chest.

"We'll keep in touch, my empress," he whispers swiftly, his voice eerily sweet and promising. With a dazed look, I watch him walk away, disappearing altogether from my view.

Suddenly I realize what I had just done. Clenching my fist, I hold it tightly against my chest.

W-Why was I so transfixed by him? He was pulling me in, and I was sure that he knew it. Is that why he left? He didn't want to get involved? More importantly, why was I just going to go ahead and so rudely touch him like that?!

"Y-Yukari?" says a familiar voice from my left. Looking in the direction surpsied, my face softens upon seeing him with my former lucky ball under his arm. He looks at me with a mixture of awe, pain and horrification.

I give him a small smile, as I realize that the flowing of blood had come to a halt. I suppose I should get an x-ray, just in case.

Standing up, I grab my bag and sling it over my shoulder. Losing my balance, I fall back onto the bench with a loud thud.

"Whoa," I mutter softly, as I feel myself becoming a little disoriented.

I hear Aomine-kun's footsteps coming towards me, but I ignore the thought of him. I didn't want to see him.

Getting up a second time, I manage to control my balance and begin to successfully take a step. But Aomine-kun grabs my hand, swinging me around. I stare down at his tanned, large hand around my tanned arm. We were almost the same complexion, strangely enough.

"Ao-"

I begin to shake as Aomine-kun bends down, wrapping his hand around the back of my legs. I knew what he was going to do.

Swinging it up, he carries me in his arms like how a loving husband would do to his newlywed wife.

"Satsuki told me that you called and didn't answer her. Apparently you left your phone on and she heard an argument going on. She sent me here so-"

"It's fine. I don't need an explanation," I mumble quietly, as I lay quietly still in his arms. Aomine-kun makes no attempt to move.

"Don't throw the first punch if you-"

"Put me down."

"What? No."

"I said, put me-"

I suddenly hiccup, putting my desperate voice to shame. I look at Aomine-kun who looks back at me with a smile. He begins to laugh uncontrollably.

But he didn't know what was to follow every hiccup that came from my mouth. The tears begin to slide down my face and I hide my face in shame.

"Hm? What the- Y-Yukari, what's wrong?" he asks, his voice urgent and worrisome. He sets me back on the ground, placing his hands protectively on my shoulders.

My face still buried in my hands, I answer him truthfully. But my voice comes out as an incoherent mumble.

He grabs my fingers, gently peeling them off of my bloody and now tear stricken face.

"Say it again," he orders, as he keeps my hands folded into his.

Swallowing the large lump in my throat, I noisily wipe my nose and eyes. "I said that I don't want you…you…I don't want you to leave me," I whimper out, as I begin to once again cry like a child.

"Fine. I'll stay with you at the hos-"

Shaking my head furiously back and forth, I wipe the tears off from my face.

"That's not what I meant, Aomine-kun," I whisper softly, as I grab his hands into mine. He looks at me, a look of realization overcoming his face. His hands slowly slip out of mine. Then did I understand what he wanted. Aomine-kun wasn't ready for a commit-

His lips are suddenly pressed into mine, the kiss urgent, animalistic, yet it was apologetic and sweet. As the tears continue to roll down my face, I grab the back of his neck, deepening the kiss.

Aomine-kun had a lot of baggage. There was his intense style of basketball, his lazy, unwillingly responsive attitude. His sudden outbursts of hate, coldness, sadness. Yet there was also those rare moments where he was happy, funny and sweet. There was a lot of things I didn't know about Aomine-kun and a lot he didn't know about me. Both of us had a weird way of communicating our feelings on others. I expected people to ask me what was wrong instead of telling them. Aomine-kun found it fit to keep everything stowed away.

We were both equally dysfunctional. But in away, we could balance each other out. Like how we were doing so right now. In that moment, I had forgotten everything that he had said and done. Like I said so before, there were two versions of Aomine-kun. One where I loved him and the other way I had nothing but resentment. Yet the both formed together and made everything that I could possibly want from him.

Pulling away from Aomine-kun, I nuzzle my face deeply into his chest. I revel delightfully in his scent, his touch, all that is him. He was all that I ever wanted.

He nestles his face into my hair, whispering an apology into it. His hot, enticing breath somehow makes it's way to my neck, causing me to shiver happily into him.

"Yuki-chan!" I hear call out, as I recognize the bubbly, girly voice. Pulling away from Aomine-kun, I notice that I had gotten blood all over his white shirt!

He looks down and notices the blood on his clothing as well.

"Ao- WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU TWO?!" yells Satsu-chan, as she takes in my bloody face and Aomine-kun's stained shirt. All I can do is scratch the back of my head and sheepishly apologize. Satsu-chan wastes no time in calling my brother's. Something that I deathly feared.

Waiting for Satsu-chan by the door outside for school, I talk to my two brothers in a three way call. Something that I had been dreading since yesterday.

"It didn't break or fracture so-"

"That is still no excuse. You're away from me for not even 2 days and I end up receiving a call from our cousin saying that you had gotten into a-"

"Ken-chan, just think about it. What if she didn't-"

"A basketball court is no place for a child-"

"Neh, Ken-chan. Didn't mother say that you were born on one?"

"Idiot! That was her attempt at some sort of- Never mind. I don't have time to argue with the likes of you. As for you, Yukari. You are no longer permitted to be alone while outside of-"

"That's impossible! This isn't middle school anymore, Yamaken!" I yell desperately, as I run a distressed hand through my hair. Really, did I need to be in some sort of witness protection program now?!

"I'm getting really tired of you both interrupting me," mutters Yamaken, as I hear him sigh out on the other end.

"It's fine, Ken-chan. Kari-chan has a boyfriend to-"

"WHAT?!" yell out both Yamaken and I in unison.

"What do you mean, _boyfriend_?" asks Yamaken, taking the words right out of my mouth.

I mean, Aomine-kun and I, although we hadn't officially made it official, but I assumed the kiss and embrace had specified that we were an item of sorts. But we were going out, I didn't think boyfriend and girlfriend were the proper terms to identify us. Yet. We still needed to get to know each other more.

"Eh? Our sisters boyfriend? What was his name again? It was something weird. Ao- no, it was Aho-"

"Aomine-kun!" I blurt out, as I slap my hand against my forehead. There I went. Spilling the beans.

"Let me rephrase that again. I let you be for not only 2 days, and I hear news that you somehow managed to be on the receiving side of a ball and somewhere along the way managed to pick up a boy toy?" says Yamaken, his voice growing increasingly irritated.

"Firstly, it was accidental. Secondly, Aomine-kun is not a 'boy toy' he's my-"

Biting my tongue, I stop myself from saying it. What was I to say? We hadn't even gone on a date yet!

"Satsuki-chan told me-"

"Satsu-chan told you this?!" I yell, as I open the house door. I find her crouched onto the floor, her ear pressed up against the door. She begins to laugh nervously while scratching the back of her head.

"Y-Yuki-"

"I'll call you guys back," I mutter quickly, as I slowly begin to close the door behind me, leaving Satsu-chan and I all alone. Perfect. No one would hear her screams as I murdered her with my shoe.

Walking into the gym, I greet the team happily.

"Imouto, we heard about yesterday. Are you alright? Do you need anything? Can we-"

"Easy, easy. It was just a…a ball to the face. Nothing to worry about," I lie nervously, as I set my bag onto the ground. Truth was, I hadn't told anyone about the threat I had received nor what had happened. I merely stated that while walking into the basketball cage, a nearby game going on had their ball accidentally hitting me in the face. I didn't dare mention anything about the true events. Not even to Aomine-kun.

"Always getting into trouble," sighs Riko-senpai, as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"Trouble's my middle name," I mumble, as I rub my eyes in stress. What if I did see those guys again? What was I going to do?

It was now after practice and I was on my way to meet Aomine-kun. I wasn't sure if you could call it a date, but he had insisted on walking me home. My whole ball in the face story didn't strike a nerve with him. Something about that worried me.

"Yuki!" yells a voice from behind. Turning around, I'm met with Kagami-kun.

"What's up, Kaga-kun?" I ask happily. I reach up to pinch his cheeks but he as always, swats my hand away.

He walks towards me, digging his hands into his black slacks.

"There's a street ball tournament going on tomorrow. I was thinking the first years of Seirin could enter it. Whaddya say?"

"Street ball? Sure, why-"

"Great. I'll text ya' where to meet up tomorrow!" he yells out, his voice fading into the busy hum of student's, as he begins to run down the hall.

I shake my head as a small smile creeps my lips. That Kagami-kun.

Waiting in front of Seirin for Aomine-kun to appear, I flip open my phone to keep myself occupied. I wonder if-

Suddenly, I feel an all too familiar presence. It was dark, sickening, but it was underlined with a sense of calm and sincerity. Looking up from my phone, I notice his small stature walking down the street. Something about him was yelling at me to follow him.

As I take a step forward, someone grabs my arm from behind, stopping my movements.

"The hell are you going?" asks a smug Aomine-kun, as he pulls me closer into him. Aomine-kun, just like myself, weren't much to show public affection. Whenever Aomine-kun did make a move, he always made sure that the two of us had been alone from prying eyes.

"I-I was…no where," I mumble softly, as I relax into his hard, comforting chest. I forget about following the strange boy upon seeing Aomine-kun.

Aomine-kun mutters something incoherent as he lightly pushes me in front of him, motioning for me to start walking.

"How was school?" I ask, as I walk in front of him, turning my head over my shoulder to hear his response.

"Boring. I went to practice," he mutters in irritancy, as he recalls the events from earlier.

"At least try to show some spirit once in a while," I reply back.

"Shut up," he mumbles.

Stopping in my tracks, Aomine-kun and I had reached the basketball cage. He notices my sudden stop and follows my fearful gaze.

"Hm? Wanna play a game?" he asks lazily, as he stretches his long arms behind his back.

I shake my head in disagreement.

"What? Yer' always dying to play against me? Let's go."

Aomine-kun grabs my hand, beginning to drag us both to what would be loosely speaking, our cage.

My heart begins to pound in fear and as well as my head. All I could think about was the warning from earlier. That deadly warning.

Trying to stop Aomine-kun, he continued to drag me and every once in a while telling me stop being such a brat. I needed to find a way to stop him. Anything from getting any closer to the group of boys. Suddenly, a brilliant idea pops into my mind.

Pulling his arm back, I clumsily slam Aomine-kun's body into mine.

"What is yer'-"

"Neh, Aomine-kun. How about we go home? Satsu-chan won't be home for a few hours. Let's go for a little, oh I don't know, treat?" I whisper teasingly, as I place my hands softly upon his chest.

Immediately his face begins to flush red. "Any…treat?" he chokes out, as he coughs into his hand out of embarrassment. Laughing softly, I nod my head in agreement. "Whatever I have to offer if yours," I purr out, as I entwine our hands together and quickly drag the love stricken boy home. Oh how easy they were to fool.

"THE HELL IS THIS?!" yells Aomine-kun, as he walks into the kitchen where I had been rummaging around the past couple of minutes.

"Language!" I yell back, as I begin to notice that Aomine-kun used some strong words in his vocabulary.

"You told me to wait in the living room. I thought we were…y'know…going to….ugh…." Aomine-kun trails off, scratching the back of his head as a glazed look overcomes his face.

"Aho. Pervert. Baaaaaka," I list out, as I throw insult after insult at him. Grabbing two spoons from the drawer, I place them in a bowl and hand it to Aomine-kun. He stares at me, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

"What is that?"

"Ice cream."

"Why are we-"

"I told you that I'd give you whatever treat I had to offer. We only have ice cream in the house, so this'll do. Come on, let's go in the living room," I order, as I brush past him with the bowl of strawberry ice cream. I couldn't help but give myself credit as to how sly I could be.

Plopping down on the couch, I notice Aomine-kun still in the kitchen. I wonder if he was-

"WHAT THE-"

Yep. He was upset.

**A/N: Hello my lovelies. Sorry I've been M.I.A lately. I've been growing increasingly busy with school and this week is even more hectic. But I'm sure things will be back to normal next week with my chapter a day posting. Thank you all for the lovely reviews and favourites/follows. They mean so much. And woo-hoo, Yukari and Aomine are finally an item. I figured that since this is a fic about the two, they had to get together at some point. Next chapter is the street ball tournament. Finally getting my favourite Generation of Miracles player into this fic. Murasaaakibara! *.***

**More basketball and new tricks await the next chapter. Love you all. 3 **


	14. Chapter 14

Hello lovelies, I have made a character design of Yuki upon request. I don't know how to insert the picture on here, but I made a tumblr account for the pictures. -.-

yukari aisaka . tumblr . com

^^ Type that into the search bar without spaces and it should work! =)


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 14: The Truth Comes Out**

"I'm sorry, but no girls are allow-"

"I'm sorry, but nowhere on the flyers did it say 'only boys'," I argue kindly towards the referee, as I begin to lace up my new, bronze Jordans. Gently I trace my fingertips along the smooth, golden texture, revelling in the crisp, new pair of shoes that were soon to become scuffed up.

The referee stammers, unsure of what to counter back with. I clearly had a point and there was no other way around the matter.

"Fine. But if anything happens I-"

"Thank you. I can handle myself," I ensure, as I stand back up to flash him a sincere smile. He grows flustered, clearing his throat as he walks away towards the other officials by the nearby table full of water.

"So?" asks Kagami-kun, as he places his hands on his hips, giving me a slightly discouraged look.

"It's an all go," I assure, as I begin to tie up my blindingly blonde, wavy hair into my signature pony tail. I pull out a black, velvet ribbon from the pocket of my black shorts.

"Guess it's a good thing you've got a pretty face," he mutters, as he begins to look around the big crowd of players, all arriving to compete and watch the tournament going on today.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. Come on. Let's go," says Kagami-kun, as he grabs my arm hastily, beginning to drag me as we catch up with Kuroko-kun and the other first years.

"You think I charmed my way out of it?" I ask incredulously.

"I don't know, did you?" he replies back, his voice accusatory.

"What if I did? All that matters is that I get to play with you guys, right?"

Kagami-kun remains silent, continuing to drag me with the flow of the crowd, dropping the matter altogether. Meanwhile, I was still furious. What did he mean by that? So what if I charmed my way through certain things when it came to basketball, I only did it so I could play in the end! What was the hardness in that?

Suddenly, we all come to a halt, with myself walking right into Kagami-kun's, large, hard body. Yelping in pain, I begin to furiously massage my nose back to ease. Although my nose wasn't broken from that punch, it was still pretty sore and achy.

"Teppei?"

Grabbing the back of Kagami-kun's shirt, I gently yank it to the side, along with his body. "Kiyoshi-senpai!" I cheer happily, as I push past Kagami-kun to cling on his arm like a child. Kiyoshi-senpai, stumbles, giving me a slightly confused look. "Kari? You're here too?"

I nod my head furiously, before I shoot Kagami-kun a deathly look. "But I wish that we hadn't brought someone along," I emphasize gravely, looking away from Kagami-kun's crimson irises.

"What was that?! Says the one who had to be woken up this morning by being dragged out of-"

I stick my tongue out a Kagami-kun, causing Kuroko-kun to hold a lunging Kagami-kun away from attacking me.

Pulling out my cell phone, I notice that I received a few messages. I smile, reading the encouraging words from my friends, the team and oddly enough, Kise-kun. Who I hadn't received the chance yet to meet. I wonder what he'd have to say when he saw me?

But much to my dismay, there were no messages from Aomine-kun. Nothing. I wasn't expecting him to wake me up with cute little messages or show up late at night just to talk. Nothing of that sorts. All I was asking for his love now and then and I'd be perfectly content, taking in both of our busy schedules. And I did tell Aomine-kun about the tournament, but it seems it slipped his mind.

Frowning unhappily, I place my phone back into my bag and throw into the pile with the other boys'.

"Isn't that…Seiho?!" asks a bewildered Furihata-kun.

"Seiho? No…way," I trail off quietly, as I take in the boys of Seiho that were across from us, stretching with soured and content looks on their faces.

"Heh, wonder what they're doing here," muses Kagami-kun, as an arrogant smirk overcomes his face. Crossing my arms over my chest, I look the other way and huff out, "Would you like me to use my _charm_ and go pry it out of them?"

Kagami-kun shoots me an irritated look, his mouth opening for a few, heated words. I take an angry step forward, ready to counter back. Suddenly I'm pulled away by the tentative hands of Kuroko-kun, while Kiyoshi-senpai leads Kagami-kun away from me.

"Kuro-kun?"

"You both are causing a disturbance," says Kuroko-kun quietly, as he nods around us. Looking around, I find the males around us with their eyes glued on to Kagami-kun and myself. They snicker amongst themselves before returning back to stretching their muscles.

"Don't make them think-"

"I know, I know. Kaga-kun's just-"

"Getting on your nerves? When doesn't he?" jokes Kuroko-kun, but the look of amusement far from his blank face.

Staring at him, I begin to break out into laughter as I rub his head softly. "Do you ever get mad?"

Kuroko-kun's gaze lands on me, his azure irises peering into my crème ones.

"Yes. I'm mad right now."

Cautiously I take my hand out of the sea of blue, not sure if Kuroko-kun was serious or not. But by the tone of his voice, I had a feeling he was.

"If Kagami-kun and yourself don't make up, I might do something I'll regret."

"Like what?"

"I don't. Maybe you won't be around to see it."

Kuroko-kun walks away, leaving me in the middle of a heart attack. What was that?! Was that a threat? Whatever it was, it had me running towards Kiyoshi-senpai.

"He's going to kill me and feed me to Tetsuya Nigou!" I cry out in delirium, as I cry dramatically into Kiyoshi-senpai.

I then notice the whole court grow eerily silent, taking in that I was being quite loud. Looking around, everyone gives me frightened looks as to what I had just said. Including Kiyoshi-senpai.

After running around the tournament like a mad woman because a certain someone forgot to hand in our sign up form, I had to find the sign in table and refill the forms for all of us. Then I had to run back to the team, get their signatures for the waiver and then run back to the table, which I couldn't find until 10 minutes later.

Luckily, I had arrived just in time for the tip off. I'm not sure what happened while I was gone, but the sudden shift in atmosphere was making my skin crawl. And not in the good way.

"Hey guys!" I greet breathlessly, as I join in on the circle that the team had formed.

"You just missed it!" says Furihata-kun.

"Missed what?"

"Noth-"

"That guy over there," points Furihata-kun, as he nods his head towards a pale, lean boy with short, raven hair. What was interesting about him was that he had a beauty mark underneath his eye, and a ringed necklace around his neck. Huh, that necklace looked really fam-

"No…." I trail off, realizing what Furihata-kun was pointing out.

"Yeah, and before this he took down Seiho by himself!"

Aghast at what Furihata-kun was splurging out, I look around the faces of the boys to confirm.

"Kagami-kun, how's your-"

"What's it to you?" he snides in remark, as he begins to crack his neck in response.

Frozen at the coldness in his voice, I feel myself begin to grow angry. Ever since we got here he's been showing more attitude than usual. Especially to myself. What was his deal?

"Kagami-kun, I understand you, and the rest of us, are under a lot of pressure, but-"

"Please, Kari. Don't say you're under pressure after coming back from playing around in Miami."

"…_playing around in Miami." By the tone of his voice, I knew he didn't mean basketball when he mentioned playing. _

"_Easy guys. We're all friends-"_

_Kagami-kun angrily cuts off a worrisome Kiyoshi-senpai. "Are we?"_

_Kagami-kun walks away with a grunt, kicking the air in front of him as he goes. Placing a hand on my hip, I use the other to run an annoyed, stressed out hand through my pony tail. _

"_Breathe. He's just throwing a tantrum. He's a kid, and so are all of you guys. Just take it easy," coo's Kiyoshi-senpai, as he places a hand on top of my head. Staring up at him with a frown, he flashes me a reassuring smile. I had to wonder, was there anything that made Kiyoshi-senpai upset?_

_Standing in the middle of the court, ready to face Kagami-kun's childhood friend, I begin to quickly make small talk with his friend, as I notice him giving me a surprised look. _

"_So you're the legend who's been putting up with Kaga-kun for so long," I joke, as I give him a kind smile. _

"_Really? He's gotten worse, I'm assuming."_

"_I suppose you-"_

"_What? Trying to make your opponent fall in love with you too?" interjects Kagami-kun, as he directly stares into my eyes. _

_What…was that?_

"_What do you mean by fall-"_

"_You know exactly what I'm talk-"_

"_Yes, Kagami-kun, because I'm clearly a mind reader!" I shout, as I throw my hands up in frustration. I've had it. I didn't care if we were stalling the game or if I was making a big scene. I've had enough of Kagami-kun's attitude. _

"_Just say it now, Kagami-kun. Just say what you've been hold-"_

"_You know how much that game against Touou meant to the team! What defeating the ace of the Generation of Miracles would have meant to us! Yet after losing to him, facing humiliation you still decide to go out with him! Are you…are you kidding me?!" growls Kagami-kun, as I watch him bite his tongue at the last part, trying to hide what would've been an onslaught of profanities. _

"_I'm sorry, Kagami-kun. I thought out of all people you'd be the one to not hold grudges!"_

"_It's called rivalry, Kari. It doesn't help us when you're two timing the team by practicing new things with us and then running off to him at Touou!"_

_Taking a step back, I wince in pain as I feel the dept of Kagami-kun's slashes. So this is what he'd been holding back all along. _

"_How come you-"_

"_Pick, Kari. Make up your damn mind and choose either us, or him!"_

"_N-No! I want both-"_

"_Who the hell cares what you want! Think of the team for once!" yells Kagami-kun, as he rubs the bridge of his nose at an attempt to calm himself. _

_I really didn't want to seem like I was putting on an act, but what Kagami-kun was saying was really hurting my self esteem right now. Just after I had learned to realize what I wanted out of life, he had to break it all down. I can't help it when tears begin to roll down my face. _

_The crowd around us had grown silent, staring in awe and confusion as to what they were seeing. _

"_Hey, Taiga. Calm down a little, you're making the poor girl cry," says Kagami-kun's friend, as he places a reassuring hand on my shoulder. _

"_Please. All of it's just an act to get what she wants," mutters Kagami-kun, as he continues to keep his eyes closed as he rubs his nose. _

_The tears stop as I hear what he says. As I hear what his true thoughts were of me. They had to be true. The truth always comes out when you're the most angriest. _

_I'm about to say something, anything to make him feel as bad as I was feeling. But I realize that I wouldn't stoop to his level. I was better than that. Than him. _

_Biting my tongue, I brush past him and towards my bag that lay in a mess with the other boys'. _

"_Hey, hey imouto. Come on, Kagami doesn't-"_

"_If that's the truth. Then let's hear it from him," I ask quietly, as my voice cracks midway through. We all look at Kagami-kun, the boys with hopeful looks in their eyes' as they usher Kagami-kun to apologize. _

"_For what?"_

_Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I find Kuroko-kun before I leave. _

"_I'm sorry," I whisper pathetically, as I gently rub his soft, plush hair before running through the crowd of people. _


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 15: Thank You**

Walking down the staircase of Satsu-chan's house, I conveniently trip on the last one, falling to my knees in a heap. Unnerving, I get back up and continue to drag my lifeless body to the door. I had already been beaten up enough today. So what's a few scraped knees to add to it?

Unlocking the door, I collapse graciously into the person who was on the other end.

"You're a bad friend. A bad boyfriend for that matter," I mumble quietly into his chest, as I wrap my arms delicately around his waist.

"That's one way to greet me," he murmurs into my hair, as he pushes my body into the house, closing the door behind him.

I lead Aomine-kun and myself up the stairs and down the hall towards my room. I forget that it was his first time in my room when I notice his face begin to flush red when he steps in.

"Try anything perverted and I'll kick-"

Grabbing my waist, Aomine-kun roughly throws me against the bed, causing my body to jump upwards. "What're-"

He immediately climbs on top of me, restraining my wrists tightly against the soft, plush mattress.

"Yer' my girlfriend. Pretty damn sure I can do anything perverted with you," he mutters alluringly, as he gently begins to nuzzle his face deeply in the crook of my neck.

"You're-"

I bite my tongue immediately, trying to suppress whatever embarrassing sound that was going to escape my lips. Aomine-kun was suddenly beginning to lightly nip and kiss at the soft, delicate flesh underneath my earlobe.

His strong, alluring scent burns my nostrils, almost turning the back of my throat. I watch in a daze as all I can see is his chest above me, slowly rising up, and down. I feel my palms, the heat of them both beginning to rise as I find myself growing agitated towards Aomine-kun's touch. What he was doing was driving me insane.

"Bet yer' dying."

"Am not!" I quickly breathe out, as I find myself back to biting my lip instead.

I feel him grin in my neck, as he reluctantly lets go of my wrists, which were now free to do whatever they wanted. And that was flipping us over. Pushing Aomine-kun against my bed, I climb on top of his lower abdomen as I flash him an endearing smile.

"What's wrong?" he asks, as he suddenly notices the change in my attitude.

I smile back, realizing as to how oblivious he really was at times. How did Satsu-chan keep up with him?

"A lot of things," I murmur. I couldn't exactly tell him about Kagami-kun. As he put it, they were rivals after all. I didn't want them to turn into enemies outside of basketball.

"If you say," he mumbles, as he purses his lips, ready to pursue what we were doing before. Smashing his face together to make his lips protrude even more, I begin to laugh at his face.

Aomine-kun grabs my forearms, flipping us back to our initial position. He gently rests his forehead against mine, staring right into my eyes. His gaze. It's so intense. So full of questions and answers to them all. So much hate and love. Fear and courage. Deceit and truth.

I was looking at myself.

"Just…whatever you want at the end of the day, okay?" he murmurs kindly.

I didn't deserve him. This. I really didn't.

"Aomine-kun?"

He grunts in response.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Have you had sex before?"

Aomine-kun jumps off of me quicker than a flea. Sitting upright in confusion, I watch as he holds his head in his hands, sitting in a crouched position.

"What's-"

"I…I don't have pro-pro…tection. Stay here, I'll run to the-"

Grabbing my pillow, I throw it as hard as I could at Aomine-kun's head as his running body falls to the floor. I hoped that some sense had been knocked into him.

"WHAT'RE YOU SAYING?!" I ask flustered, as I hold my other pillow up against my chest, hiding the lower half of my red face.

"YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO HAVE-"

"I ASKED IF YOU HAD IT. THAT WASN'T ME GIVING YOU CONSENT TO- WAIT, WHAT WERE YOU EVEN THINKING? SATSU-CHAN'S GOING TO BE HOME IN 10 MINUTES!" I yell embarrassingly, as I give him an incredulous look. His face suddenly grows blank, as the realization hits him.

A small smirk overcomes my lips. "Or is that all the time you needed?" I muse out loud.

I watch in amusement as the tanned man in front of me flushes a deep red. I begin to roll around in my bed, laughing as I hold my sides in pain.

"Well, I guess you'll have to find out."

Looking over my shoulder, I look just in time to see his large, dark body engulf my smaller, but almost as dark one, into his.

Aomine-kun begins to kiss my neck, starting off with small, gentle kisses, before he begins to travel down towards my collar bone, trailing further down, towards my shoulder where his kisses and body language begin to grow more and more rough.

"E…easy," I stammer our nervously. Although it may not seem like it, this was my first time with a boy like this. And by no means did I plan on having sex for a long time.

"Buzz kill," he mutters, as he notices that I was beginning to grow slightly uncomfortable. Rolling off of me, he lays sprawled out on his back, wrapping his hands beneath his head.

I flop onto his chest, with my ear pressed up against his chest. This was what I needed. Not someone yelling at me, telling me that I didn't need someone like Aomine-kun by my side. Someone like Kagami-kun.

Listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, I find my eyes begin to flutter shut. Revelling too much in his warmth, protection, all that was him.

But, both of us shoot upright as we hear the door downstairs slam shut. Satsu-chan was home. Pushing Aomine-kun off of my bed, I make him obediently sit on the floor just in time for Satsu-chan to walk in.

But I could tell she didn't buy at all as to what was before her.

I lay sprawled out across my bed, my breath a bit too ragged, and my hair certainly a bit too messy if I was just laying by myself. Then there was Aomine-kun sitting far across from me on the floor, sitting on his knees with his hands neatly folded on his lap. I cringe at the sight of him. It was too obvious and forced. It was gruesome really to see him so proper.

"This…this is wrong," mutters Satsu-chan, as she begins to retrace her steps in horror and out into the hall.

It…it was all too wrong indeed.

**A/N: **Hello lovelies, sorry about the late chapters! Just didn't find much time, and I kept re-writing chapter 14 because I had all these ideas in my head as to how I wanted it to play out. Finally chose a scenario. But other than that, I realized that when I had re-edited the first 5 chapters going from a "Your, You" perspective to a first person POV weeks ago, that for some reason none of my changes had been made. Yikes! Knowing that my story was that wonky for so long really irked me, seeing as how I thought I had changed it almost a month ago! Even though I did save them. Turns out I had to make any changes on the original documents, all that I had deleted. So it was a long process of copying, pasting, re-editing, saving, replace chapter, delete old one. Took me forever to do. Finally everything's a-okay! Thank you all for sticking with me for this long. I'm currently writing ANOTHER Aomine x OC character. This one's much more different in a sense that the heroine is taking Tatsuya Himuro's place in the story. So that means her and Kagami-kun were childhood besties. But unlike our Yuki, this heroine is still a jokester, but much more serious and perceptive. She's also shorter than Kuroko and as Satsuki would say, "_…barely 'B' chest." This heroine plays for Yosen High and is being buddy-buddy with our dearest Murasakibara. If anyone's interested in the fic, please let me know and I'll post it real quick. I've got a few chapters waiting. But none the less, I will post the story regardless. I think that's all. Haha. Love you all! xx_


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hello lovelies, glad you all enjoyed the chapters. I've uploaded 6 chapters of my new story. Here's the link! (type in fanfiction . net and paste this at the end) /s/8973295/1/Pocket-Full-of-Love **


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 16: Thank You**

Waking up the next morning, I roll across my plush bed, thanking whichever God that today was a Saturday morning. One day where the team of Seirin was allowed to take things easy. Laying my hand upon my nightstand by my bed, I begin to fish around for my cell phone, knocking over a picture in the process.

Groaning in annoyance, I lean half of my body over my bed, searching for the fallen photo. Where was it?

Suddenly my bedroom door creaks open, welcoming a groggy Satsu-chan who was still dressed in her pajamas; a long, oversized black t-shirt.

"Nice shirt. Where'd you get it?" asks a sly Satsu-chan, as she climbs into bed beside me. Her body squishes against mine, considering that my mattress was only a twin size.

Satsu-chan was referring to the gag gift Aomine had gifted me back at the resort where Kaijou, Touou and Seirin had all been conveniently staying at. The same shirt I had been wearing around all the boys, much to my misfortune did I not realize on the back it had said, "**I LOVE AOMINE DAIKI**" in large, bolded red letters. That was the only time I had worn it, but ever since I came back from Miami, I had found myself secretly sleeping in the large jersey to bed. Something Aomine-kun didn't know about. And he wouldn't know about. That is if Satsu-chan would remain quiet. Something told me that my bubbly cousin would somehow manage to spill the beans. Just some more leverage for Aomine-kun to make fun of me with.

Smiling at the fond, embarrassing memory, I find myself beginning to giggle like a smitten middle schooler.

"You're in a good mood. Hey, you never told me what you and Aomine-kun did when he came over?" asks Satsu-chan, as she rolls on her side, wrapping her hands up to her chest as she faces me. I do the same, so that we stare at each other face to face.

"What we did? Well…you're laying in it."

"What're-"

I begin to laugh as Satsu-chan's face grows deathly pale, as she jumps out of bed quicker than Aomine-kun had did yesterday.

"THAT IS DISGUST-"

Grabbing her arm, I yank my overly gullible cousin back towards the bed, nestling close to what would be more of an elder sister.

"I'm kidding, silly. We didn't do _it _and I don't plan to anytime soon. So please don't worry," I mumble reassuringly, as I cling on to her arm like a child not wanting their mother to leave their side.

Sighing out loud, Satsu-chan soothingly smoothes out my hair, making my eyes beginning to close once again in comfort.

"Say, have you done it?" I ask, as a loud yawn escapes my lips.

Satsu-chan remains quiet for a few seconds, before answering. "No," she says softly.

"Waiting for Kuro-kun?"

She suddenly and swiftly, slaps my head, causing me to sit upright in pain. Any ideas of sleeping again had been thrown out of the window. "What was-"

"Kuroko-kun is a gentleman. He and I will wait until we're married," she huffs out, as she crosses her arms over her large bust.

Laughing, I begin to fish around my nightstand for a second time, searching for my phone. Which reminded me that I dropped that photo somewhere on the ground. Leaning over again, I find it squished in between the crevices of my nightstand and bed. Grabbing it, I'm about to place the photo back on it's surface, not about to bother with photo at all. But I find my eyes glued to the picture, my eyes burning at the old memory.

Satsu-chan gently takes the frame from my grasp, inspecting it herself. "You never showed me this," she mumbles more to herself than to me.

Flipping open my phone with my spare hand, I frown upon the empty screen. No new messages. Grumbling irritably, I begin to scroll through my contact list. I suppose I'll be the bigger person and apologize first. The last thing I wanted was an unbalanced team for Seirin and our senpai's to become worried over the tension between us both. I'm sure Kagami-kun, nor Kiyoshi-senpai for that matter would've mentioned much.

Holding the phone up to my ear, I cover my eyes with my other hand, dreading the conversation that was about to take place.

"What?" grunts a still quite upset Kagami-kun. I ignore his rudeness and get straight to the point.

"Look, I…I want to apologize about yesterday. I should've had let you spoken in private instead of causing such a big scene. Especially after I decided to walk away like a child. I'm sorry that you've been feeling that way lately, Kagami-kun. The last thing I want is for you to be unhappy, alright? And plus, with us fighting we've got poor Kuro-kun worrying as well," I profess, as I feel an intense weight lifted off the brim of my shoulders.

Glancing towards my side, I find Satsu-chan listening in on my conversation with Kagami-kun. I had explained the whole ordeal to her after dinner. Seeing as how Aomine-kun had decided to stay for it.

Thankfully now it seemed that this whole problem was out of the way. I could now start to live my life guilt, drama-

"How'd Aomine take it?" he asks.

Free? I was so close to the much needed freedom.

Jolting upright, I place my hand up to my forehead, not understanding what he just said. I throw my arms up in the arm, giving Satsu-chan an incredulous look. She stares back at me in confusion, throwing her hands up as well. I would've put the call on speaker but I knew it'd be unfair on Kagami-kun's part. Plus, I'd end up retelling her the story anyways.

"I'm sorry. How'd Aomine take what?"

"The break up. How'd he take it?"

What break up?

"I still don't understand, Kagami-kun. Aomine-kun and I are still-"

"So you're leaving Seirin then?"

Was he- it suddenly hit me like one of Kuroko-kun's cyclone passes.

"_Make up your mind! It's either the team or him!"_

Kagami-kun wasn't actually serious, was he? By no means did I plan on choosing between Seirin and what would possibly be the love of my-

Kagami-kun sighs roughly on the other end. "If you don't choose, then we can't be friends anymore."

Unconsciously holding my breath, I feel my skin begin to grow uncomfortably numb, crawling irritably all over. I felt like ripping it all off.

"_We can't be friends anymore."_

"…_can't be friends..."_

"…_anymore."_

Suddenly I find myself yelling hysterically into the phone, clenching it tightly in my fist. "Just what're you talking about, Kagami-kun?! We're friends, we play on the same team, go to the same school, hang out with the same people for crying out loud! We're the same person, Kaga-"

"Are we? Because I sure as hell wouldn't betray the team by-"

"Fine. Fine Kagami-kun. You can have it your way. Even though you claimed yesterday that I couldn't have things go my way all the time, and that I had to think about the team, then here's me doing you a favour."

"So you're breaking up with-"

"Yes. I'm breaking up with you, Kagami-kun. I'm done. If this is how you plan to feel about how the relationships I share with others who mean a lot to me, then we can't be friends. I can't be on the same time as someone who hates me, Kagami-kun. I'll tell Riko-senpai myself that I'm handing in my uniform. Thanks for everything you've done, ba…ba…Kagami-kun."

Ending the call, I couldn't even find the strength to insult him. Bringing my knees up to my chin, I hold my legs tightly as my breathing becomes shallow.

"W-what happened, Yuki-chan?" asks a tentative Satsu-chan, as she shifts closer towards me. If that was even possible.

"He forced me to choose…choose between the team and Aomine-kun. H-How can I when I love both equally?" I whisper, as I find myself beginning to break.

Satsu-chan's gaze grows soft, as she lowers her head in pity. "And?"

"It wasn't much of a choice anymore when he threatened to stop being friends with me if I chose Aomine-kun."

"Then I don't think Kagami-kun's much of a friend if he said something like that," whispers Satsu-chan, as she pulls my head into her chest, rubbing my back softly.

"W-Was I wrong? Am I making a mistake by quitting the team over Aomine-kun?"

Satsu-chan is quiet, the only sound you could hear were my quiet sniffles and sobs. "When I first saw Aomine-kun and you together, I couldn't believe it. It…it was as if I was looking at the Aomine-kun from middle school. He was happy, kinder and much more friendlier when he was around you. Even though it didn't look like it to you, I could tell he was genuinely happy. That besides myself, he had finally found someone who could keep him occupied in a good way. And I could say the same thing for-"

"That's grea-"

"But," she drags on, almost not wanting to say the other part.

"But?"

"But when you finish playing with Seirin, you tell me stories about everyone as soon as you see me, going on and on for hours about them all. And I could sit there and listen for hours, not growing the least bit annoyed or tired. Because that look on your face, that…that light in your eyes was more than enough to keep my attention. Just as happy as you are with Aomine-kun, it's the same when you're with Seirin," she finishes, stating her opinion.

By now, I was out of tears and much more calm and relaxed than before. Hearing her talk about Seirin like that made me happier than ever. But it also made me happy to hear that Aomine-kun was changing for the better because of myself.

Rolling away from my cousin, but still staying near her, I hold up the framed picture in front of my face, studying the past memory. It was a photo that had surprisingly enough hadn't made into the basketball calendar. It had to be the only picture where everything was right. Everything was natural. We all stood in a line, our hands cupped around each other's shoulders, all smiling happily at the camera.

I was on the very end on the left hand side, with both of my arms clinging onto Kagami-kun's large, toned right arm. Never wanting to let go of him. Even he had a broad smile on his face in the picture. Something that was hard to get out of him.

Placing the photo gently back onto my night stand, I begin to analyze the situation before me.

"What're you thinking?" asks Satsu-chan, after sitting in silence for about 5 minutes.

"Say, remember when I had talked to you on the phone before I came to Japan. When we were talking about what school to en-roll me in?" I ask, as I turn to look at her.

She nods her head.

"You said there was only two schools willing to accept a girl on their basketball team. We had went for Seirin because they were the closest from home. What was the other one?"

"A-Are you sure?" asks sceptical Satsu-chan in response.

Of course I was sure. More sure than I could ever be about something. But I couldn't tell my decision to her quite yet. Not after I discussed it with a certain someone, possibly group before hand.

I nod my head.

"They hold practices on Saturday at their school as well. But it's not mandatory. If you want, we can go check them out," she says, as she begins to climb out of bed.

"Really? Okay. What school was it?"

Satsu-chan walks across my room, stopping underneath the frame of my door. Turning her head over her shoulder, her pink, tangled locks flow down her back like a waterfall. She finally answers.

"_**Rakuzan High."**_


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 17: What Am I Thinking?**

Arriving at Rakuzan High, Satsu-chan and myself stand in front of the prestigious school, our feet, well mine, rooted to the ground as I stare up at the smouldering school. The school where I could potentially be finding myself to play with at the Winter Cup. Exhaling deeply, Satsu-chan places her hand comfortingly on my shoulder.

"No one's forcing you to leave, Yuki-chan."

"I know, I know," I mumble in response, as Satsu-chan and I climb up the stairs, our steps coinciding.

Halting in front of the large, double headed doors, I take a deep breath before placing my hand on the door.

"This is it," I say quietly, more to myself than to Satsu-chan. Nodding her head, she tells me to open the door. Counting down from 3 in my head, I clench the cold metal in my grasp, swinging it open. But instead, the door remains almost glued shut.

"That's odd," muses out Momoi, as she places her neatly filed nail up to her chin.

Nodding my head in agreement, I try again, just to make sure. Once again, the door doesn't budge.

Satsu-chan and I remain quiet, listening in for the sounds of basketballs dribbling. And we hear them. They were coming from around the corner, where the gym was.

"Stay here, Yuki-chan. I'll go and try the gym doors!"

Running off into the distance, I watch quietly as her pink hair swings softly from side to side. Sighing, I lean my body against the door, crossing my arms over my bust in thought. Maybe this was a sign. A sign that I belonged with Seirin, and that Rakuzsn was never in my future, nor would it ever be.

Alone to my crazy thoughts, my ears perk up as I suddenly hear footsteps making their way towards me. Well, Satsu-chan was pretty quick.

"Did you find…a…way…"

My voice trails off into the light breeze as my hair suddenly begins to dangerously whip around my face, as if a storm had just arrived. I suppose that was one way to describe the boy's aura in front of me. It was him. The same boy from the basketball courts. The one I had seen walking by Touou. The one who had somehow cast a spell on me, a spell full of awe and admiration towards the red head. He continues to walk, his heterochromatic eyes staring at me quizzically as a light, barely there smile creeps onto his lips.

"If I knew you were coming, I would've cancelled practice," he says, his voice a light, solemn rasp as he stops before me. Crossing his arms over his chest, he begins to assess my body in an analytical way rather than for personal pleasure.

"I-I'm-"

"I've been told you wish to join Rakuzan," he says perceptively, his words more of a statement than question.

"That's the thing. I don't-"

"If you aren't sure, why bother coming out here? You must already know what you want if you've arrived here unsure."

Laughing nervously, I scratch the back of my head, not sure if I understood what he meant.

"We've already established a team here that works. If anything, you'd be sitting on the bench for all games. Not because of your gender, but because of the threat you pose to other teams," he says kindly, as he gives me a look from the corner of his eyes.

Hesitantly nodding my head in response, seeing as how I couldn't find the right words to say, all I could do was blush and smile at his kindness.

"You have a better chance at staying with Seirin than anything."

"Do you really think that?"

"I know that."

For some reason, something inside of me told me that those words just weren't loosely speaking.

"I-"

"Mind over matter, right?"

With that, the red headed boy pushes off of the glass doors, turning around as he begins to walk away from my confused, yet eased mind. It was odd. I didn't even know his name, and he didn't exactly say much either by telling me that I'd be benched. But why did his words reassure a place in my heart? A place that couldn't be put to ease by the team, Satsu-chan or even Aomine-kun.

Sighing, I begin to slap my forehead. Why would I even think about joining Rakuzan?! Seirin was home. It was family, love, integrity and strength. Everything I ever needed from life. I couldn't abandon them. Not my senpai's, the first years, Riko-senpai, Kuroko-kun and certainly not Kagami-kun after all that he had said. If he didn't like Aomine-kun, I'd make him like him.

Running a hand through my wild hair, I want to ask what the boy's name was, but instead, I find him nowhere, but instead, a running Satsu-chan is replaced with himself.

"Yuki-"

Running into Satsu-chan's arms, I hug her tightly as I nestle my head deeply into her soft chest.

"What's the-"

"Let's go home."

"B-But-"

"I've figured out that I need to learn to think about myself and not what others want. If I want to be with Aomine-kun and still play with Seirin, then no one can tell me otherwise, right?"

Looking down at me, a soft smile overcomes Satsu-chan's face as she pats my head comfortingly.

"Whatever you want," she laughs, her voice residing deeply into my mind as I hold onto her tightly.

Now, here came the hard part. Telling Kagami-kun.

**A/N: Hello lovelies! Wow, I've been M.I.A with this story for a while. I've just been really busy and paying more attention to my other fic, an Aomine x OC story as well. Sorry all! Hope to start posting more soon! Sorry for the short chapter as well. I found some spare time and I hope this will suffice for now! Love you all. =)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 18: Wager, Wager**

"Kagami-kun! It's me. Buzz me in!" I yell irritably into the speaker, as I watch the frost from my warm breath begin to dance around in front of me. It was freezing outside, surprisingly enough. I began to wonder if it would possibly snow soon. Probably. That means I'd have to buy a proper jacket and other warmer clothing as well. That would also mean I'd have to get a job if I wanted to buy some extra warmth for the upcoming winter, that looked very promising.

Sighing, I raise my scarf higher up my face as I begin to dance around, earning odd looks from strangers on the street. I was just trying to keep warm because a certain someone was taking forever to buzz me into their complex.

Suddenly, the speaker makes a loud, static noise as I hear Kagami-kun's familiar, annoyed voice. "No-"

Jabbing the button with my now frozen finger tip, I threaten Kagami-kun to let me in or he wouldn't awake the next time to see the sun rising. Sighing greatly on the other end, he buzzes me in.

Practically bolting into the warm, toasty complex, I stand frozen in the nice, clean foyer for about 10 minutes, trying to get the circulation in my body running through again. I think it was time to whip out the tights once again.

Brushing past an elderly couple, I apologize to them as I run to catch the elevator that was closing. Making it in on time, I hit the number ten as I wait patiently for the elevator to stop first at three and then head up to ten.

As the older man get's off at the third floor, I'm taken to the tenth as I walk down the long hall, stopping at the very last door. Knocking a few times, I dig my still frozen hands into my sweater, waiting for Kagami-kun to open his door. After a very long minute, I hear his thunderous footsteps and some shuffling around before he swings the door open, taking up the entrance as it seems that he had no intention of letting me in.

"Yes?"

"What's with the attitude?" I huff out, as I cross my arms over my bust. Really? He was this mad?

"What's with the unpleasant sur-"

"I'd invite myself in but it seems as though you'd rather have us sort this out in the hall. Fine, have it your way. I came here to apologize, alright? Nothing more. I don't want to fight, to yell or to say things that I, or you, would regret later on. Like how you regret saying all those things to me, right?" I hint on, as I wink directly at him, signalling that he should play along and we both should forget about the matter.

"I can't help how-"

"I feel that Seirin and Aomine-kun are two, very, completely different cases. I know how to separate one from the other and I don't need you, of all people, telling me that I can't. If you can't accept my apology and aren't willing to throw this behind us, then I have a proposition for you."

Kagami-kuns' eyes narrow judgingly as he stares at me, specifically at my face as he tries to search for some type of bluff. Some type of ulterior motive. But I didn't have one. I knew Kagami-kun was stubborn in almost everything, so, I had come up with an alternate plan to decide how to settle all of this.

"A bet?"

"Your words, not mine. Listen, what would you think about of having a match?" I ask quizzically, as a sly smile overcomes my lips.

"A basketball match?"

"No, Kagami-kun. A game of Polo! Of course basketball! That's the only thing you can play, right?"

Kagami-kun reaches out, pointing directly in the middle of my forehead. Confused in response, I look up questioningly at his sudden outstretched finger. "What're you- G'AH!"

Rubbing my forehead furiously, the brim of my crème coloured irises begin to fill with tears.

"W-What was that for?!" I yell out angrily and emotionally as Kagami-kun had just proceeded to flick me in the forehead. Seriously, his fingers were long and much bigger than the average persons'. It wasn't fair.

"Don't make me out to be an idiot, idiot," he replies back exhaustedly, as he shifts his weight tiredly onto his other foot.

"Bakagami," I mutter quiet, as I scratch the side of my face as I can't help but smile.

"What was that?" he asks in annoyance, as he reaches out to flick me again. Grabbing his finger with my two hands, I lead it down to the middle of my chest, as I help guide him to outline a heart.

"You know I don't think that you're actually an idiot. Although you have me guessing sometimes," I laugh out, as I proceed to outline a heart as well on his chest.

I was trying to point out that no matter what we said to one another, what we did, in the end, we both had an undying love within each other. Whether it be for basketball, our family or for the other.

Kagami-kun looks to the side, scratching his head as he tries to hide his red face. As long as he didn't have that angry scowl from earlier, I was fine with an embarrassed face more than anything else.

"Now, as I was saying. How about you and I have a basketball match? Whoever wins will be declared right and therefore will have to comply to the others' demand. Sound good?"

"Not really. How many people in a team?"

"A standard team, just like any other game of basketball."

"But-"

"Here. I'll make it easier on your behalf. You can get all of Sei-"

"I can have all of Seirin?"

Nodding my head with a smile, I jester with my hands that there was more. "You get Seirin and I'll form my own team…somehow," I explain thoughtfully, as I give him a few seconds to contemplate.

Kagami-kun stands in front of me, crossing his arms over his broad chest as I notice a small stain of some sort on his white t-shirt. I had to wonder, did he know how to get it out?

"If I get Seirin, who does that leave you with?" he asks cautiously, as he begins to poke my cheeks in speculation. As if they had the answers to all of his questions.

" I don't kno- Stop that! I'll ask Satsu-chan and see if she can gather anyone else," I say irritably, as I swat his hand away from my face.

Kagami-kun begins to immediately laugh to the point where he holds his side and begins to slam his hand onto the door frame. Cracking an eye at him, I begin to punch him lightly in the gut. "Kagami-kun!" I whine out sadly, as I begin to cling onto his arm in despair. Coming to his senses in a bit, I continue to hold onto Kagami-kuns' arm, feeling a sense of recollection. It felt like how it used to be. Before Aomine-kun came into the picture. Before he ended up meaning something to me that I couldn't quite place my finger on. Before when Kagami-kun and I were better friends than this.

Kagami-kun places a comforting hand on top of my head, rubbing it softly as I can tell from not even looking that he had a small smile on his lips. Yes, it was just like old times.

"You and her are going to make a team? Against Seirin? Well, ya' better get ready."

Pulling away from the large boy, I flash him a smile as I tell him not to worry. But instead, that he should tell the team to up their training. After a few more insults exchanged here and there, we schedule for the so called match to be in two days. Two days for Kagami-kun and the team to practice and two days for me to rally up the troops.

As soon as Kagami-kun closes his door, I immediately whip out my phone, calling Satsu-chan as I walk down the hall towards the elevator.

"Yuki-chan! How'd it go?" she asks, as I hear the sink running in the background.

"It's a deal. Have you contacted everyone?" I ask, as I can't help but not hide my large smirk.

"Yes. Although our only shooting guard was a hassle to persuade," she adds, as she sighs out in recollection on the other end.

Rolling my eyes at the stubborn boy, I continue to jab the "up" button as I finally hear the elevator shaft beginning to make it's way up to the tenth floor.

"Did we have to bribe him?"

"Not really. As soon as I mentioned he'd get a chance to pay against Kagami-kun he ultimately caved in."

Ah yes. The benefits of sweet, sweet revenge.

"Everyone else is good to go though?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Thank you, Satsu-chan. Look, I'm getting into the elevator right now so I'll see you at home, alright?"

"Bye, Yuki-chan!"

Snapping my phone shut with a large, devious smile, I step into the elevator as an old man greets me.

"It's good to see kids your age so happy," he states, as he flashes me a lively smile in return.

Yes. I was really happy. I suppose it was somewhat cruel to not tell Kagami-kun of who I had actually called in and arranged to play on my team, but then again, he'd had me feeling pretty down lately. I needed all the power and luck if I wanted this little dispute to go my way. And with the people I had playing against Seirin, I'd get nothing but that.

But deep down, I felt a little guilty of placing Seirin against these players. But, it'd be a good chance to practice for the upcoming Winter Cup.

I couldn't wait to see the horrid look on Kagami-kun's face on Tuesday.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 19: United Nation of Disaster**

"I'm sitting besides Kasamatsu!"

"…alright?"

"I'd rather not sit around any of you, but I'll take my seat besides Ta-"

"Shut up."

"Now, now Aominecchi. It's been a while since we've all-"

"You too. Shut up."

Slapping Aomine's groping hands off of me, I grab the collar of his shirt where I make everyone sit as per my wish.

Rearranging all the very different personalities to somehow mesh together in unity, I take my seat in between Kise-kun and Aomine-kun at the kitchen table.

Suddenly I feel a slithering hand begin to run it's way up and down my thigh, at some points threatening to go underneath my beige, pleaded skirt.

Sighing out in frustration, I order for Aomine-kun and Takao-kun to switch places immediately. I was semi-fine with Aomine making his moves when we were alone, but today we had some important business to get into regarding the up coming match. Apparently I'd now become the bad guy as everyone grows unhappy by the sudden change, seeing as how I, quote on quote by Midorima-kun, "_Can not control your man."_

Well, this was me controlling him now.

"Takao-kun, get up," I order sternly, as I pat the now empty seat besides me.

Shaking his head like a child, he begins to explain that he wanted desperately to sit beside his idol, Kasamtasu-kun, who in return, shrugs his shoulder as he begins to almost fall asleep.

"But-"

"And I'd like to stay as close to Takao as possible," infers Midorima-kun, as he pushes his glasses higher up his face.

"Neh, does this mean we're best friends?"

Midorima-kun pushes Takao-kun's overly happy face out of his way. "As if anyone sane enough would consider yourself as something that would fit in the 'best' category of-"

"Oi, Midorima. Did you gain weight?" asks a smug Aomine, as he takes his seat once again besides me, resting his hand this time on the back of my chair. Well, as long as he kept it there for everyone to see.

Shooting Aomine a cautious look, I plead for him to act somewhat civilized.

"Watch out, Yukitten. Seems as though you're not the only thing Aominecchi's been checking out," says Kise-kun jokingly, as the blonde boy besides me casually reaches over to pinch my cheeks.

Before I have time to check how Aomine-kun would react to the jab, all I have time to see is a quick, dark blur and the next thing I know Kise-kun has toppled over onto the floor in a heap.

"KISE-KUN?!" I yell worriedly, as I immediately rush down to his sprawled out form.

"Idiot! Says the one who's in love with Tetsu and- Wait, stop calling Yukari that!"

"Ah, ah. That really hurt Aominecchi."

"Grow a pair, Kise."

"S-Senpai!" he whines out helplessly, as he begins to cry at Kasamatsu's words.

"That was quick. Didn't Aomine remind you of a cat with those reflexes?" asks Takao to no one particular.

"Yes. The type of ugly mongrels you'd find at the animal-"

I'm not sure what happened next seeing as how I was tending to Kise-kun on the ground, but what I had guessed from the sudden sounds of torment and yelling was that Aomine-kun had probably thrown something at Midorima-kun.

Letting the boys above fight it over, I try to help Kise-kun up.

"That looked like a heavy fall. Are you-"

"I'm fine, Yukitten. But maybe if you kiss-"

"The hell did ya' just say?!" growls out Aomine-kun, as he wedges himself in between Kise-kun and I.

"Ao-"

"In case ya' haven't gotten the news, Yukari and I are-"

"I can't help it if I'm a little jealous, now can I?"

"If ya' can't then I'll take it upon myself to shut yer' mouth. How about I break that model of a jaw?"

"Are you hinting that I have a nice jaw? Aominecchi can be so-"

"You-"

Standing up right I grab Aomine's arm as I lead him away from the just as bad male on the floor. But upon walking by the table I notice Midorima-kun holding his lucky item for today in his palm. It was a cute, black and white penguin that had been wearing glasses like his and a flashy, black top hat.

It was now shattered into tiny fragments.

"D-Did you do that? IS THAT WHAT YOU THREW AT-"

"Relax, relax. He dodged and it hit the-"

Quickly looking behind Midorima-kun's head, I find a nice, big whole gaping through Satsu-chan's wall. Thank God Midorima-kun had dodged it or else there wouldn't be a Midorima-kun to keep Aomine-kun on his toes.

"M-Mido-"

"Get him out of here," he says swiftly, as a dark shadow overcasts across his lenses. Something told me that it had to be the spirit of the poor broken penguin in his grasp.

Pushing Aomine-kun in front of me out of the kitchen, I take him to the living room where I push his large body forcefully onto the couch.

"You know how I like it," he growls out passionately, as he reaches out to grab my arm and pull me into him. Where he would then proceed to try and cop a feel, sway me with his charisma and fight with me that he had done nothing wrong and then I would believe his innocent charm. But right now, this was where the fun and games would end.

"You're going to sit here."

"Thought we were having a team meeting."

"Yeah well you're kicked out of it until you find some resolve."

Aomine-kun stares up at me blankly, his eyes narrowing as he slumps down into the couch. "How am I supposed to watch Kise?"

"That's the thing. You won't be. You're going to have to trust-"

"Hmm? That's not fair. Midorima has Takao with him. The idiot's got Kasamatsu. And if Murasakibara shows up then he's got whatever his name is. I don't have any-"

"You have me," I say sweetly, as I jump out in front of him, dazzling my hands.

Aomine stares at me with a nervous look as he looks to the side, scratching the side of his face. "Yeah, I guess-"

Throwing the remote at him I yell at him to put a little more effort into his sincerity.

"But seriously. One way or another you seem to be picking a fight with-"

"Did you hear what they-"

"I did, I did. Come on, Aomine-kun. Can't you be the bigger person here?" I ask.

But I suddenly realize what I had just said and feel embarrassed that I had actually asked Aomine-kun that.

The doorbell to the house goes off as it is followed by some knocking afterwards. Turning around, I watch as Kise-kun has made himself right at home and runs to the door happily.

"Bastard. It's like this is his house or something," growls out Aomine-kun from behind, as I hear him raise from the couch. Not bothering to look back I feel around for his body as I push him back to the couch. "Easy alpha. They'll all be gone in a few hours. I'll call you back into the kitchen when I feel it's appropriate, alright?"

Mumbling in response Aomine-kun begins to turn away from me, falling asleep on the couch. Sighing out, I walk towards his motionless, grumpy form as I tell him that when Satsu-chan arrived he could then come back into the kitchen.

Still upset and feeling slightly guilty that Aomine-kun had to take the brunt of the little incidents, I kiss him gently on the cheek as I nip teasingly at his ear lobe. Avoiding his swatting, possessive hand, I laugh at his red face as he stammers out for me to come back.

Leaving him in the living room and making my way back into the kitchen, I find that it probably would've been better if I hadn't left at all.

Firstly, Midorima-kun was in the far off corner of the kitchen, a dark aura around him as he began to superglue his lucky item back together. Next, Takao-kun was taking pictures of a sleeping Kasamatsu-kun who was getting drawn on by a giggling Kise-kun. Then there was the two new comers to the meeting who had just arrived. Kagami-kun's childhood friend, Himuro-kun, who sat across from them laughing as Murasakibara-kun had quickly scavenged the kitchen already. Looking at him with an incredulous look, he continues to place another spoonful of strawberry ice-cream into his mouth as he stares at me blankly.

Sure my team was obviously quite stacked with power, seeing as how we had four out of the five power houses of what was called the Generation of Miracles. But, Seirin was a unit that played and communicated well with one another. As for us, trying to get everyone to sit down and talk was proving to be difficult. My team was beyond stable.

XxXxXxX

"Now, before we begin. Does anyone have any objections with where they sit?" I ask in slight annoyance as I plop down in my seat that was in between Kise-kun and Kasamatsu-kun.

After waking up from his deep slumber to find everyone laughing at him, Kasamatsu-kun had almost succeeded with his plans of killing Kise-kun. The fact that it was all taking place in a kitchen didn't help matters either, where sharp objects were in stock.

After calming the two down, it was settled that I had to sit in between them seeing as how Kasamatsu-kun kept kicking Kise-kun underneath the table. Finally finding a system at the table where everyone was happy and that there were no objections, I begin to talk about the upcoming match.

"This isn't just some free for all that you can just go with the flow. Seirin's not how they used to be when we played at the Inter-High. They're stronger, faster and a whole lot more troublesome. And I know you're going to say they don't stand a chance against some of the top players that are all sitting around this table but you clearly underestimate them. They're a power house team and if they want, they will fight for it. Himuro-kun, Murasakibara-kun, I know you both haven't played against them yet but I'm sure our Shutoko and Kaijou players are more than happy to talk about their experience with them," I say smugly, as I look at all of their faces. They all look away in embarrassment as Midorima-kun noisily clears his throat.

"I'm sure a team that has Taiga with them is a team to be in fear of," states Himuro-kun, as he flashes me a smile. Nodding my head in agreement, I look to Murasakibara-kun to see if he had anything to add on.

"He has weird eyebrows."

Well, not something I was really expecting but at least he said something.

"So far, I've made up the shifts but seeing as how everyone has such a difficult time with even sitting with one another I'm going to assume that what I have written down isn't going to-"

"Just read it out, Yukitten," encourages Kise-kun, as he places a comforting hand on my shoulder. For a second out of the corner of my eye I had seen a deathly shadow jump about. Most likely Aomine-kun stalking his prey.

Sighing out, I read the shift line with great hesitance. "For starting I had written Aomine-kun, K-Kise-kun, Kasamatsu-kun, Himuro-kun and myself."

I rub my face in shame as I suddenly realize how bad that line was. Aomine-kun against the wrath of Kise had already been proven to be a disaster. Involving the innocent, angelic Himuro-kun into the problem scared me that Himuro-kun might say something and then it'd suddenly turn into a two against one ordeal.

The boys around the table remain silent for a few seconds before they all begin to point out the flaws.

"I refuse to play without Himuro-kun," states Murasakibara-kun, as he gives me a sad, dejected look. Almost breaking my heart and causing me to run and comfort him, I grip the pencil in my hand where I right down both of their names together.

"And I'd rather not play with Kise," says an irritated Kasamatsu-kun, as he recalls the remnants of the black felt pen that was still on his face.

"I want to play with Kasamatsu!" shouts out a happy Takao-kun.

Alright, then I could make a shift with Himuro-kun, Murasakibara-kun, Takao-kun, Kasamatsu-kun and one more person. Hmm, I suppose I'd play for both shifts then, seeing as how this match was based around Kagami-kun and I.

"Kasamatsu-kun, would it be alright if you double shifted with the other line?"

Nodding his head, he says that it was no problem. Until he realizes that he'd have to play with Kise-kun. Looking towards the model on my left, all Kise-kun does is smile as he gives Kasamatsu-kun an encouraging thumbs up. Kasamatsu-kun slams his head roughly into the table.

"Perfect. Starting shift will consist of Himuro-kun, Murasakibara-kun, Takao-kun, Kasamatsu-kun and myself. Second line will be Midorima-kun, Kise-kun, Aomine-kun, and Kasamatsu-kun and I double shifting," I finish, as I exhale loudly as a small smile creeps my lips. Looking around the table, no one objects the list until Midorima-kun points out why the second shift wasn't the first one. Making a jab at the first line by saying that shift two was clearly the strongest.

"Mido-chin is jealous."

"I am not."

"Mido-chin," mimics Takao, as he gives Midorima a smug look. Midorima proceeds to hit Takao from underneath the table as his team mate in return laughs it off.

"I mean no offence when I say this but the starting shift is just more calmer, personality wise while still packing in the punch. With specifically you two and Aomine-kun back there starting first, it doesn't exactly scream cohesive knowing how you three already are together."

"I do not know what you are talking about," states an embarrassed Midorima-kun as he looks away.

"B-But I didn't do anything, Yukitten!" cries out Kise-kun, as he clings onto my arm while giving me a hopeless look. Having to look away from his heart wrenching face, I just prayed that Aomine-kun wasn't seeing this.

"What exactly happened?" asks a confused Himuro-kun and Murasakibara-kun.

Grabbing onto Himuro-kun, I begin to beg him to take me with him when he and Murasakibara-kun leave.

"Oh, since Kagami-kun's changed his playing to the point I'm not sure Kise-kun will be able to follow with his previous copy of him, I wanted to give our model here some time to analyze and figure things out," I explain clearly, as I nudge Kise-kun in the ribs.

"Don't flatter him, Yuki. He should be lucky that Kaijou even thought about picking him up from the pound," mutters a still sour Kasamatsu-kun.

"Th-That's crossing the line, senpai."

XxXxXxX

After spending another hour of explaining to the boys about our strategy and warnings, I had bid them all farewell as they left for home and other places.

As I was saying goodbye to the boys of Kaijou, I had to apologize to Kasamatsu-kun on Kise-kun's behalf.

"It's fine. I'll get him back at tomorrows practice," he mumbles, as he holds Kise-kun back away from me who was desperately trying to hug me.

I wasn't sure when or why, but Aomine-kun had made his way up to my room, falling asleep like a child across my bed. Thankfully he wasn't here to see Kise-kuns' persistent attempts.

"As for you, Kise-kun. You're lucky Aomine-kun is up-"

"He's not here. What would be the harm if I just gave you a hug?" he asks sweetly, as he begins to squirm in Kasamatsu's grasp.

Biting my lip nervously, I tell Kasamatsu-kun to let go of the boy. Immediately Kise-kun crashes into me, his warm body instantly heating me up as his powerful, sweet, musky cologne wafts into my nostrils.

Smiling into his chest, I hold on for a few seconds more before pushing him back.

But then suddenly Kise-kun decides to breach the rules and leans in to kiss me on the forehead. Within seconds dangerous, loud stomps make their way down the staircase as Aomine-kun rams his body into Kise-kun which goes flying out the door.

"K-Kise-"

"Don't worry. He deserved it. See ya' guys later," explains a smug Kasamatsu-kun, as he too leaves the house, closing the door behind him.

"I thought you were sleeping, " I say exhaustedly as I hug Aomine-kun into me, in hopes that he'd calm down.

"I was waiting for you to join me."

Snorting at his remark I tell him that it was maybe time for him to leave too.

"Can I sleep over?"

"What? No. Tomorrow's school and most importantly, you're a boy."

"Boyfriend."

"What exactly would you think would be happening if Satsu-chan even allowed you to sleep over?"

Aomine-kun leans down to my ear, whispering what he had in mind for the two of us. My cheeks instantly burn red as I push him away from me, breathing raggedly as Aomine-kun begins to laugh at my response.

"Care to try right now?"

Grumbling, I lead Aomine-kun to the door where I order for him to get on home.

After hugging me tightly and forcing a sloppy, tongue filled kiss out of me, he exit's the house as he waves goodbye to me, his tanned arms flexing underneath his white shirt.

As I lean against the door frame and wave back, I can't help but notice a group of boys down the street, staring at me specifically. That was odd. They looked familiar but I couldn't quite place their faces with anything that I could remember.

Not thinking any longer about it, I close the door, locking it as I made my way into the kitchen to clean up the mess the boys had made.

Little did I know that those were the same boys who had punched me in the basketball courts, threatening to do much worse if they ever saw me again.

Now they knew where I lived.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Three Stooges**

"Can someone tell me again, just for the record, why we're all here?" asks an annoyed Kasamatsu-kun, as he tries to ignore the fact that a sea of girls had engulfed a basking Kise-kun off to the side.

"What better way to build such a diverse team with trust exercises?" I point out, as I begin to pull out the list of activities I had planned for today. I even brought Satsu-chan along for the games I had made.

Truth be told, I had no problem with the first shifts unity which consisted of Kasamatsu-kun, Takao-kun, Himuro-Kun, Murasakibara-kun and myself. I was positive we wouldn't have any mishaps of communication there. But as the days passed and the closer the match was coming, it suddenly occurred to me how deadly unbalanced the second shift was. Sure Aomine-kun, Midorima-kun and Kise-kun had all once played on the same team, but everything was different now. They weren't the same boys they used to be. Which proved to be true taking in how last weeks meeting had went.

The official game was in two days, being held on a Tuesday after school in one of the local recreation centres.

Meaning the second shift had two days to get along and play respectfully.

"I can see why the second shift needs the help. But how come the rest of us had to be here?" he asks again, as he begins to tap his foot in annoyance as Kise-kun's voice begins to grow obnoxiously loud.

"Because we're a team and this is a team activity. I know asking you all to play is already a big enough favour but please play along just for to-"

"What she really means is shut up and play," chimes in Aomine-kun from the side, as he places his elbow on my shoulder, leaning onto me.

"That's not what I meant at all!"

"Whatever. I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat, Kasa-"

Grabbing the hem of Aomine-kun's collar, I hold him back where I loop my arm through his.

"We're a chain. You can't break us," I warn drearily, as I give him a heated look.

Aomine-kun stares down at me, his gaze unwavering before he whistles out in response. "Probably the lamest thing you've ever said."

Flushing, I immediately break the chain, pushing him away from me.

"Look. Satsu-chan already volunteered to go and grab us all some snacks. Plus, our Shutoku and Yosen players haven't arrived yet."

"They're 20 minutes late," points out Kasamatsu-kun, as he slumps further down onto the park bench.

It was true. We were all supposed to meet at the Sakura Park at noon, but the other half of our team hadn't arrived as of yet. I sent a message to them all wondering where they were.

**From: Midorima Shintarou**

"_Takao is peddling too slow. The mongrel claims he is tired. I don't see how so since we are climbing up a hill. Expect some time before our arrival."_

**From: Himuro Tatsuya**

"_Atsushi thinks we're having a picnic. He's picking up some snacks for what he claims for everyone. But we all know it's for him. Be there soon, sorry!"_

All I asked for was a little flexibility. But what could you expect from a bunch like this?

XxXxXxX

"Alright! Now that everyone's here, I'd like to officially begin our activities for the day!" I greet happily, as I tie my blonde hair up into a high pony.

The boys grumble in response as they wait for me to go on.

"I've set up five activities for the day. They're all group activities which means you'll have to trust those around you and you're partner. The last-"

Suddenly I watch as everyone grabs a partner as if on command. Aomine-kun immediately grabs me and I involuntarily grab Satsu-chan who was on my left. Kise-kun grabs an unwilling Kasamatsu-kun where Midorima-kun fishes around for Takao-kun, making sure he hadn't left his side. Murasakibara-kun protectively grabs Himuro-kun, who smiles up at him.

Well, that worked out.

"As I was saying, the last activity is the most crucial and most enjoyable of them all. Now, I've made up the partners with the help of my dearest cousin," I announce, as I wave the clipboard up in the air. Everyone's expressions immediately drop as Kise-kun goes to great lengths to fall to his knees.

Looking at the names before me, I find myself stalling as I hand the board to Satsu-chan, too afraid to face the wrath that was to come.

"Okay. Himuro-kun and Takao-kun. Murasakibara-kun and Yuki-chan. Kasamatsu-kun and myself. And then Midorima-kun, Aomine-kun and Kise-kun will be a group of three."

Immediately everyone except Himuro-kun and Takao-kun begin to yell.

"Insolence! Give me Takao-kun!" yells Midorima-kun.

"Ah, Mido-chin. Please don't yell at him," warns a playful, yet deathly Murasakibara-kun.

"Hey, Murasakibara! Ya' lay a hand on her and I'll kill ya'!"

"Aominecchi and Midorimacchi are mean to me!" whines Kise-kun into the arms of Kasamatsu-kun.

"Oi, Kise. Shut up and most importantly…DON'T TOUCH ME THERE!" he yells in embarrassment, as he tries to fight off a further slumping Kise-kun who's face was trailing dangerously close to Kasamatsu-kuns' pelvic region.

"Who do you think is going to win?" whispers Satsu-chan into my ear, as she hugs the side of my frame into her. Resting my chin on her head, I tell her my money is on Himuro-kun and Takao-kun, who were both laughing off to the side like old friends.

Maybe this was a big mistake?

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Activity one. The famous trust fall. I think everyone here knows what I'm talking about. Please take this seriously, alright?"

Watching everyone do it first, I watch happily as Takao-kun and Satsu-chan are caught happily and safely into the arms of Himuro-kun and Kasamatsu-kun.

Now my turn, I fall into Murasakibara-kun who catches me easily with one arm.

"Oi! I thought I told ya' not to-"

"Aominecchi!"

Looking just in time, I find the rigid, solemn body of Midorima-kun falter under Kise-kun's half grasp as he plummets to the ground, his features motionless as we all stare at the threesome in shock.

"Aomine-kun!" Satsu-chan and I yell both at the same time.

Rushing to Midorima-kun's aid while Satsu-chan lectures Aomine-kun, I ask if he's alright,.

"T-Takao. G-Get me him," he croaks out deathly, as he reaches towards the invisible Takao-kun that wasn't there.

Ushering Takao-kun to handle the situation before him, he crouches by my side as he dramatically grabs a hold of a "dying" Midorima-kun.

"T-Takao…"

"Y-Yes?"

"I always despised you."

Midorima-kun grows unconscious as Takao-kun slumps down next to him, unconscious due to Midorima-kun's final, cruel words.

"They both should just quit basketball and pursue an acting career," I mumble out loud as Murasakibara-kun helps me drag them off into the shade.

XxXxXxXxX

"Alright. Activity two. As you can see Satsu-chan and I have centered these small pillars into close proximity in this small square we outlined with chalk. Now, one partner will be blindfolded and inside the small square. With the helpful voice of their other partner who will be outside the box, they will guide their partner to get to the other side by dodging and walking around the pillars. The key to this exercise is that no matter what obstacles may be in your way, have faith in your partners voice and learn to let every nagging thought go. Understood?"

They all nod their heads in agreement. But I can sense the already ensuing tension and reluctance. Especially from the infamous threesome.

So far, Himuro-kun and Takao-kun were in lead for points. Each of them had caught each other with ease. See, Satsu-chan and myself would have been tied with the two for two points each but when it came to Kasamatsu-kun falling into Satsu-chan, it all went downhill when he landed into her breasts, causing them both to grow flustered and resulting in Satsu-chan letting poor Kasamatsu-kun fall to the ground. As for me, I opted out. There was no possible way that I'd be able to hold Murasakibara-kun's weight. As for the threesome, Midorima-kun refused to catch Aomine-kun from his earlier fall. And when Kise-kun caught Aomine-kun, he struggled out of his grasp and fell, claiming that Kise-kuns' hands were somewhere else. Where, I didn't want to know.

So far, it was Himuro-kun and Takao-kun with two points, Satsu-chan and my group with one point and the threesome with nothing. You'd think that the group with three would be in first place. But they were a special bunch.

Tying the blindfolds on our partners, we position them at the starting line as the rest of us stand at the end.

Satsu-chan blows the whistle, encouraging us to start.

"M-Murasakibara-kun! Please take one step to your left and then two to the front!"

Murasakibara-kun does what I tell him and I watch in horror as he knocks down three pins. That's right. His strides weren't of the average. He unwraps his blindfold as he looks down at the mess before him and then towards me. Giving him an apologetic smile he steps out of the box as he walks towards me, patting me comfortably on my head.

"Oi! What did I say earlier?" yells Aomine-kun, turning to give his former team mate a heated look.

"Take a step forwards," orders a perceptive Midorima-kun as he directs Kise-kun.

Aomine-kun letting it go for now, turns back to the activity upon hearing Midorima-kun's authoritative voice.

"Kise! Take two instead."

Midorima-kun turns to Aomine-kun, staring at him solemnly before he yells out "one".

"Two!"

"One!"

The two boys lock eyes before Aomine-kun, of course being the first as always, knocks horns with Midorima-kun.

"Maybe ya' should clean those glasses, Midorima. Kise clearly needs to take two and-"

"Maybe you are the one who needs glasses. Here," mocks Midorima-kun, as he swiftly takes off his glasses and hands them towards Aomine-kun. He swats his hand away and the two begin to argue.

"Ugh, guys?" croaks out a confused Kise-kun who feels the air around him for a little help.

Sighing, I'm about to end the game due to the problems with the threesome but I watch in awe and joy as Takao-kun and Kasamatsu-kun are both neck in neck at finishing. Well, what could you expect from Touou's manager and the boy who could tame Murasakibara-kun?

Cheering for the two, the others begin to notice the race that was going and within minutes we're all cheering for one, but trying to contain our voices so the two could hear the voices of their partners. In the end, Kasamatsu-kun accidentally knocked over a pillar when he heard his younger team mate, Kise-kun, cheering for Takao-kun.

In the end, the game was a bust for the rest of us, but once again, Himuro-kun and Takao-kun were in the lead with four points, Satsu-chan and Kasamatsu-kun with three, Murasakibara-kun and I with three and the threesome with no eggs in their basket.

I could tell it was getting to them as each one sat on the ground away from each other. Losing was something they had never accepted before.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Okay, our third activity. This one is called running free. Now, we all start at the end with our partner where one will be blindfolded. Holding hands, our other partner will lead us from a slow walk to a running sprint towards the finish line. Now, running without sight isn't exactly the most confident thing to do. Especially when you're being told to trust someone. But, like in basketball, at some points you're just going to have to. Understood?"

Nodding in agreement, we all begin to tie the blindfold on our partners. Positioning at the line, Kasamatsu-kun holds Satsu-chan's hand protectively as I do the same to Murasakibara-kun. This should be easy. Sprinting was always in my favour after all.

Takao-kun leads Himuro-kun as the threesome begin to bicker loudly.

"I refuse to hold your hand," shivers Midorima-kun, as he takes a look at Aomine-kun's palm. It was true. He rarely ever washed his hands. At points, I was even reluctant to hold his hand when it was the two of us.

"Tch. Fine. Kise-kun will be blindfolded and he can be in the middle."

Grumbling in response, they hold down and blindfold a wailing Kise-kun who's clearly grown tired of being the guinea pig of the two's wrath, seeing as how it either resulted in torture or confusion.

Starting, I blow the whistle as all groups begin to slowly pace towards the line ahead of us.

After a few feet, I blow the whistle again where I signal that all groups can now begin to go into a sprint.

No one taking this activity lightly, I begin to sprint quickly as I suddenly come to a halt as something weighs me backwards. Looking behind me, I find that Murasakibara-kun is opening up a bag of chips. Blindfolded.

"Murasakibara-kun!"

"Eh? I'm hungry. Please?"

Even though I couldn't see his lustful, child-like gaze that was sure to be there, I caved in uncontrollably as I take off his blindfold, smiling up at him as I make him sit and eat.

Instead, I rub the sweat from my forehead and watch everyone go. Of course, the power house team of Himuro and Takao-kun were in lead, hand in hand.

Aomine-kun and Midorima-kun were practically towing what seemed to be a dead Kise-kun, his legs trailing behind him as the two boys competed with each other, trying somehow to out run the other. They seemed to be forgetting that this activity was meant to be worked together, not against.

Well, seems like Takao and Him-

Wait, where's-

"W-WHAT?!" I yell in shock, as I watch an over pushing Kasamatsu-kun sprint to the finish line as Satsu-chan lays slung over his shoulder, yelping as they both cross the line in first.

Running to the teams that had finished, I ask Kasamatsu-kun what he just did.

"Won the race," he says with a smirk, as he high fives a dizzy Satsu-chan. Takao-kun grabs her body from falling.

"You're disqualified," I huff out bossily, as I cross my arms over my bust.

"W-What?!"

"You weren't supposed to break hands! She was over your shoulder. By default, you two are out and once again, Takao an Himuro-kun win."

Kasamatsu-kun stares at me mouth agape for a couple more seconds before he kicks the dirt before him, walking off towards a passed out Kise-kun who lay in the shade.

"And you two!" I yell out again, as I point towards an oblivious Midorima-kun and Aomine-kun.

"What about us?" mumbles Aomine-kun, as he knows fully well about what I'm about to lecture them both on.

Marching right up to him, I slap the back of his head as he growls out in annoyance towards me.

"What was that for?!"

"You know exactly what about."

"Then how come only I get hit?!"

Glancing towards Midorima-kun, I contemplate whether or not he should get the same punishment, but I watch as he pushes Takao-kun in front of him.

"Takao, attack!"

Takao-kun gives a grumble before he walks towards Himuro-kun's side.

"What am I, a dog?" he mumbles in annoyance.

"Fine. Then tell me who thought it would be a wise idea to get up on Kise's back and make him do all the work? And how two fully grown boys managed to climb onto him is beyond my understanding!"

"It was simple. I, of course, on the top and the mongrels beneath-"

Shooting him a look, I tell Midorima-kun that I wasn't looking for the details and master plan behind it.

Their eyes quickly avert my gaze as Midorima-kun clears his throat uncomfortably. Looking to Aomine-kun, I watch as he turns his back towards me, his shoulders shaking as I listen closely to his muffled laughs.

Taking off my shoe and making sure not to get my sock dirty, I throw it as hard as I can at Aomine-kun's head, watching his body slump to the ground. By now from an odd, twisted routine this was becoming, Murasakibara-kun grabs his body and places an unconscious Aomine-kun in the shade besides Kise-kun's passed out form.

By now, it didn't matter if we went on with the next activity. The second shift was beyond hope. Instead, I order for everyone to help themselves to the food that Satsu-chan had brought graciously for us all.

Staying back, I watch happily as they all begin to laugh and talk amongst themselves as they descend further away from me.

I can't help but crack a smile at them all. It was futile. As much as I tried to produce the connectivity with everyone, it was just something you couldn't force upon. With no matter how many games I could plan, I was the one who needed to have the utmost faith and trust in all of them. Especially in myself.

"Eh? Yuki-chan, are you coming?" yells Satsu-chan from ahead, as everyone turns their head to stare at me, giving me an encouraging smile as they all tell me to hurry up before Murasakibatra-kun eats all the food.

Realizing that this could be a possibility, I quickly run to catch some food, making sure there was at least some for Kise-kun who had been through the most today. Ironically enough, the one who had been complaining the most on eating wouldn't be getting any after all. If only Aomine-kun could keep his ridiculous ideas to himself.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Better Late Than Never**

"Good morning, Kaga-kun!" I chirp happily into the red head's ear. He jumps in shock, but not for too long as the next thing I know he begins to yell frantically into my face. Spit flying and all.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't know that you were _this _worried about the match today already," I hint, with a smug look on my face.

"Really? I'm worried? Aren't you the one still without a team?"

"What makes you say that?"

"There's been no word around that you've come up with a decent team. Plus, from what I've heard you've been inside your house for the most part."

Raising an eyebrow at him, I ask him questioningly if he's been keeping tabs on me or was just really obsessed with my perfect life, or so what I would like to call it.

"Tch, with Aomine in it, it's far from perf- OW!"

"See, I wouldn't have to keep hitting you if you just accepted the fact that he and I are-"

"Bull-"

"Hmph. Fine. Remember what the bet is? Whoever wins get's one favour that the other has to comply to no matter what. I already know what mine is."

"And I already know what mine is too."

Staring into each other's eyes' as if ready to lunge for the other, my senpai's from the team and Kuroko-kun end up stepping in front of us from doing so.

"_Imouto_! We haven't seen you all week!" cries Hyuuga-senpai, as he pulls me into his hard chest roughly, almost breaking my nose by the sudden impact.

Patting him on the back, I muffle my words to him that I too did miss the team's company.

"Well, I noticed you were home all week-"

Giving Izuki-senpai a suspicious look, I ask him what he meant that _he_ had noticed.

"Oh-Ah, I mean, we noti-"

Hyuuga-senpai slaps him on the back of the head as he then proceeds to grab his collar, half whispering and half yelling at him to not throw all of them underneath the bus as well.

Sighing out loud to myself, I scratch the back of my head and begin to wonder if everyone was just keeping tabs on me this weekend.

Suddenly, Kuroko-kun taps me on the shoulder, giving me an all too serious look.

"I noticed Momoi and yourself had ran out of milk. So here, I brought some from the convenience store on my way to school," he says sternly, as he hands me a small gallon of white milk.

Thanking him with a smile, I take it graciously when it suddenly hits me that during the week, not once had Kuroko-kun came over.

Slowly turning to my side, my eye begins to twitch as a vein pops out of my neck.

"Just what the heck were you guys doing on the week-"

"Damnit Kuroko! We were so close!" groans Kagami-kun, as he grabs the hem of Kuroko-kun's shirt, quickly dragging him off before anything else ensued.

Looking at the senpai's, I'm about to demand an explanation but they too end up hauling ass away from me.

Just what on earth were these guys- Hey, wait a second.

"WHERE THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO PUT THIS MILK?!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Out of a group of seven, not even one of them can bother to answer their damn phones!"

Grunting and slamming my forehead lightly against my locker, I clench my fists tightly as I crack one eye open, flipping my phone back open in hopes they responded.

Nothing.

"Getting scared, I see?"

Not bothering to look, I take it by the arrogant voice and familiarly that it was none other than Kagami-kun.

"Yes. I'm scared that after this game that large ego you have will be diminished to that of nothing," I jab, as I give him an affectionate smile.

Disgruntled, he asks me where my team was, clearly amused that I seemed to be having some sort of breakdown this close to the game which started in an hour and a half.

"No, just our communication isn't exactly our strongest point."

"Well, you better bring it to the court if you plan on winning."

With that, Kagami-kun waves me off as he recedes down the hall, where the team of Seirin is waiting so they can all walk to the Recreation centre where our game was being held.

Sighing, I grab all my belongings from my locker, slamming it shut as I too make way for the centre. All I had to linger onto was hope. Hope that my grand scheme would in the end pay off.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

My hopes of getting what I wanted, which was Kagami-kun to accept my relationship between Aomine-kun and myself, seemed like nothing now. It had to be less than 5 minutes to the game, with Seirin already getting a good hour of practice in before hand. Me on the other hand practiced on the other half of the court all by my pitiful self. Still, even 5 minutes before the game, not even Satsu-chan had replied to a single one of what had to be 50 messages that I had sent out to everyone.

Seems as though my favour was too much to handle for everyone. Especially the bunch that I had gathered. Takao-kun was probably busy handling Midorima-kun. Himuro-kun taking care of Murasakibara-kun. Kasamatsu-kun probably had captain duties that first had to be taken care of at Kaijou. Kise-kun probably had a photo shoot he had to go and most importantly, Aomine-kun was most likely lying on his back, fast asleep while dreaming about playing in the NBA.

"Oi, Yukari!"

Jumping, the basketball from my hands slips out of my fingertips and away from my body.

Turning around, I find the team of Seirin along with Riko-senpai staring at me with worry and amusement from Kagami-kuns' side.

"Look around, the place is packed with people from school and around the neighbourhood. Where's your team?" he asks, looking around in exaggerated mock as clearly it was just me by myself.

Sighing, I throw my hands up in the air and tell him that he won.

"You're right. I had no team all along. It was just me by myself hiding in my house. I'm done. I give up. I forfeit this match," I whisper sadly, as the remainder of my dignity and will power go flushing down the toilet.

"The hell type o' bullshit is that?!"

The familiar voice echoes throughout the gymnasium, causing everyone amongst the crowd and floor to grow hush as I watch all of their heads turn to what was behind me. Looking up, I watch all of Seirin's eyes' go wide with shock, their jaws dropping as well.

Swivelling my head around, my blonde locks that stay currently into a high ponytail on my head sways into the side of my face.

Pulling the strands away, I look with a smile as to what awaits before me.

There stood the boys. Takao-kun, Midorima-kun, Himuro-kun, Murasakibara-kun, Kasamatsu-kun, Kise-kun and of course, Aomine-kun.

But what surprised me the most wasn't my cousin standing in front of them with a clipboard and whistle with a large grin, but it was the fact that all of them were wearing matching yellow, orange and white uniforms.

Nearly running towards them, the first job I do is smack each of them on the back of their head. Much to my convenience, Murasakibara-kun being the gentleman he is, bends down for myself. Stopping at Aomine-kun, I of course hit him the hardest.

Growling, he grabs my wrists in his fist out of annoyance and anger.

"Damnit woman, what the hell is yer'-"

"You all had me so worried!" I cry out, as I give them a shy, meek smile.

Kise-kun reaches in and pinches my red cheeks, while quickly dodging Aomine-kuns' swatting hand.

"Neh, don't give us that look, Yuki-chan. Of course we'd come. I couldn't leave my Yukitten all alone to defend against these bad dogs."

"What do you mean _'I"_?" asks an annoyed Kasamatsu-kun that Kise-kun was only talking for himself.

"More importantly, why the hell do ya' keep calling her th-"

Slapping Aomine-kuns' obnoxious form out of the way, I ask them what was up with the crazy get up.

"Oh, well we figured that we needed uniforms," chips in Himuro-kun.

"So I asked some of the girls I worked with at the agency if they could make us some," replies Kise-kun, with a wink and a grin.

"Did you pay them?"

"Well, no. But-"

"It must've taken a while to make these- What the- They're so soft and…durable."

"I know. It's made from the finest- OW!"

Crossing my arms over my bust, I huff out at the blonde-haired boy as I turn away from him.

"The cost of these uniform's are coming from your pocket, I hope you-"

"But-"

"No buts!"Kise-kun turns to Kasamatsu-kun to cry, but he pushes him to the ground.

"Here's your uniform, Yuki-chan," chirps Satsu-chan, as she hands me a crisp, orange, yellow and white jersey with the number one crisply printed on.

Thanking her, I ask how they came up with the colour scheme.

"Well, you always where a white ribbon in your hair," says Satsu-chan.

"You have blonde hair," states Midorima-kun, as if it was an obvious fact.

"And you have orange skin," says Aomine-kun flatly. Going in to hit him again, he dodges before I could do so.

"I'm still working out the whole tanned business, alright? But, why would you guys choose the colour scheme as colours that had to do with-"

"Because you're our captain, silly," laughs Satsu-chan, as she hugs the side of my body with affection.

Looking up at each of their happy faces and Midorima-kuns' scowl, I can't help but laugh in joy as to how wrong I was about them.

Suddenly I hear Kagami-kuns' laughter behind me. Turning around, it seems as though the apparent shock had come down, but only a smidge. As to Kagami-kuns' behaviour, I had to believe that he was going into some sort of delirious state.

"This is your team? Do you expect us to be scared? After already playing against these guys?"

"And losing," says Aomine-kun, as he gives Kagami-kun a heavy dose of his cocky attitude that was about to arise.

"G-Guys, let's turn the heat down a notch, al-"

Aomine-kun pushes me behind him as he takes a step closer to Kagami-kun. Stumbling into Mursakibara-kun, he holds me upright with his left hand.

"Sorry."

He nods his head, signalling that it was fine.

Sighing out loud, both teams watch tiredly as Aomine-kun and Kagami-kun go at it while Kuroko-kun tries to act as a moderator.

This was going to be a very, very difficult game. Not in physical strength, but emotionally wise.

And right now, looking at all the spectators and teams, it was going to be a hell of a game.


End file.
